Let's just pretend that nothing's broken
by IcyLady
Summary: For generations, the Baskerville and Vessalius families maintained an uneasy balance of power, aided by the Nightrays and the Barmas, respectively. However, when Baron Sinclair comes into possession of an object that could give one of the families the power to erase the other, everything will change. !AU!
1. Born for this

**Disclaimer: Pandora Hearts and all its characters belong to Jun Mochizuki. I'm only borrowing them for my twisted plot and I'm doing it purely for fun. All titles are quotes from Blaqk Audio songs.  
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**Author's note: This is an "alternate universe" story, so don't expect B-rabbit the chain destroyer or something. Actually, don't expect to see any chains, they completely didn't fit. Also, there's Kevin Regnard, not Xerxes Break, just so you know, so no candy obsessions or typical Break-ness.**

**So now: read and enjoy. And review! I love reviews!**

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**Ch. 1: Born for this**

It was the last day of school before the summer holidays. The day was beautiful: sunny and warm, inviting to sit under the tree and read a book until the carriage came to pick him up and take him home. Elliot Nightray was looking forward to the summer, even if the next year would be his last in Lutwidge.

The book long forgotten on his lap, Elliot wondered about his life after school. As the heir to the Nightray family, he would have to study politics and diplomacy, which would be infinitely boring. He would be required to marry a lady of appropriate standing for the future Earl, which wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to either. Was there any good side of growing up?

Of course, learning politics and diplomacy would only be a question of time, since Elliot was both intelligent and talented. Finding an appropriate wife would not be an issue either: if he was to trust his father, there were at least three families that expressed their interest in marrying their daughters to the handsome, blue-eyed and blond-haired Nightray heir. He had yet to meet the girls in question, even though there was a good chance they attended the same school as he did.

'Anybody home?' asked rudely the voice of Leo Baskerville, Elliot's best friend at school and the cousin of the future Duke Baskerville, Elliot's future lord. He looked at the dark haired boy, whose violet eyes were gleaming mischievously. 'We were wondering if we should let you sleep here or if you want to go home,' he added, extending his hand to help Elliot get up.

Leo's "we" included, as always, Oz Vessalius and Edward Sinclair. Together with Elliot, they formed a tight group of friends, thanks to Leo's and Oz's continued efforts, despite the history of mutual dislike that separated their families. Edward was the same age as Elliot, that is to say sixteen, while Oz and Leo were both fifteen. Well, Leo would turn fifteen next week, which was an occasion for a huge party.

The two blonds were smiling at Elliot as he allowed himself to be pulled up by Leo. They were all dressed in more casual clothes, instead of the white school uniforms, making Elliot feel a bit out of place between them.

'Leo was just telling us about the party next week,' Oz informed him with his trademark smile. 'Oscar wrote that Ada has been bugging him about it for three weeks already,' he added with a laugh. Oscar and Ada were Oz's siblings. Oscar, the oldest son of Duke Zai Vessalius, would eventually inherit the title and become the biggest enemy of Duke Baskerville, to whom Elliot and Leo would eventually pledge their allegiance.

Elliot was still unsure how it was possible that he and Leo were on speaking terms with Oz, considering the history of their families. However, both Leo and Oz insisted that it was a stupid situation and required change. Elliot didn't think they would manage, even with the help of Jack, the second of the Vessalius children, who was tenaciously clinging to Lacie Baskerville, Leo's mother.

'Apparently Emily is the same,' Edward told Oz. 'She's thrilled, because it's the first party she is ever going to,' he added. Elliot wasn't exactly looking forward to the company of the six-year-olds, but he had to admit that both girls were very cute. Plus, Alice, eight years old and the youngest of the Baskerville children, would be happy to have them there, which, Elliot supposed, was the reason as to why they were invited in the first place.

'I just realised,' Oz started, as they walked across the perfectly-maintained lawn, towards the main building of the school. 'Elliot is the only one, who doesn't have a younger sister,' he finished, while Edward asked how Elliot managed to get so lucky.

'I don't think that not having siblings is lucky,' Elliot pointed out with irritation. 'Besides, for all the time I have spent with Alice, she's almost my younger sister as well,' he added. It was true. Because his father and Leo's uncle, Oswald, cooperated closely, Elliot ended up spending many days in the Baskerville mansion. When he was younger, he played with Leo. Afterwards, more kids arrived and Elliot and Leo ended up taking care of Alice and Oswald's two adopted sons, Gilbert and Vincent.

'Older brothers are not so fun either,' Oz pointed out. He was the only one who was not the oldest of the children in the family and often complained about what Oscar and Jack could do and he couldn't. 'Although at least there's always somebody else to blame, when things go wrong,' he added and launched into a summary of the time when Jack dared him to climb a particularly tall tree.

'If I didn't know better, I would have thought he wanted to kill you,' Elliot muttered when Oz said that he'd spent a week bedridden as a result of a concussion. He didn't like Jack and he knew that the other three knew that as well. He liked Oz, who was always happy and helpful and looking at the bright side of life. With Jack, however, the very same qualities seemed exaggerated, grating Elliot's nerves whenever he was forced to sit at the table with the grown-ups.

After school I will always have to sit at the table with the grown-ups, he thought, ignoring the discussion between his friends for the moment. Yet another annoying part of growing up, his mind supplied bitterly. The end of school marked the entrance into the grown-up life and in one year, he would be expected to take up his place in the society. He wondered if Edward regretted it as much as he did, but there was no time to ask, because they arrived at the main courtyard, where the carriage bearing the Nightray emblem was already waiting.

'See you guys next week,' he said as the driver came up to tell him that his baggage was already taken care of and they were ready to leave. They exchanged brief good-byes and he climbed into the carriage, ignoring the guard inside and telling the driver to leave immediately.

As the only child of Earl Bernard Nightray, Elliot was constantly surrounded by guards, except at school, where the security was provided for all the students. He knew that, as the only son of Baron Sinclair, Edward also had some guards following him. They both complained about that after every school break, much to the annoyance of Leo and Oz, who claimed to be bored by the topic. Privately, Elliot thought that they were a bit jealous, because neither of them would inherit the title. Oz had two older brothers and, his father being old and sick, it seemed like a matter of months before Oscar would become the Duke. Meanwhile, although Leo was the oldest in the Baskerville family, it would be his adopted cousin, Gilbert, who would become the next Duke.

Gilbert will also be going to school after the summer, Elliot thought, looking through the window idly. It made him feel weirdly old to think that the black-haired boy was already ten. He could still remember the surprise when Leo, at that time ten himself, had introduced Gilbert and Vincent, five and four, respectively, as his new cousins, adopted by Uncle Oswald. Elliot still wasn't sure why the Duke of Baskerville adopted his heir, but it seemed to be a tradition. Oswald and Lacie were also adopted children of the previous Duke.

Outside, the lush, green forests surrounding the Lutwidge Academy gave way to golden fields of wheat and barley. Elliot knew that they would be eventually replaced by farms, before the carriage would pass through a couple of villages. It was nearly a full day drive from school to the Nightray manor in the outskirts of Reveille.

I should profit from daylight to read, he thought, closing his eyes for a moment. Last night's unofficial good-bye party was quite an experience. Not that he approved of this kind of pass-time activities, he thought, frowning. He should have gone to sleep earlier or refused the party entirely. It made him so tired and father would surely wonder if there was something wrong…

'Young master?' Elliot heard the voice calling him. With a small groan at the stiffness of his neck, he opened his eyes, realising that it was night and the carriage was stopped. The door was open and the guard was looking at him carefully. 'Are you awake, young master?' he asked.

'Have we arrived?' Elliot asked back, stretching his sore muscles. Once again he made the grave mistake of falling asleep in the carriage. Would he ever learn?

'Indeed,' the guard said, the tiniest of smiles flickering across his lips. Elliot scowled at him and left the carriage. Another guard greeted him outside, together with the butler of his father.

'Good evening, young master,' the butler said with a polite bow. Elliot nodded at him, replying with a "good evening James". 'Young master's father is busy with a guest and sends his deepest apologies to not be able to greet you tonight,' James added.

'Who's the guest?' Elliot asked, walking towards the manor. The Nightray family was reputed for doing the dirty work on the behalf of the king, in cooperation with the Baskervilles. There were not many who came with social visits, yet fewer whom Elliot's father would prioritise over greeting his only son.

'Duke Baskerville,' the butler replied. Elliot stopped and glared at the butler. Was the man making fun of him? Duke Baskerville never came to visit his father. It was always the other way around. 'I assure you, young master, that Master Bernard was just as surprised. It was not a planned visit.'

'I see,' Elliot muttered. James followed him into the manor and down the corridor towards Elliot's bedroom, informing him about small things like dinner that night or the plans for the following day. Apparently, father arranged archery lessons for him, thinking that they would greatly compliment his sword-fighting skills.

A couple of minutes later, Elliot was walking down the corridor to the dining room, this time alone. He stopped when he heard a conversation and flattened himself against the wall, quietly making his way to the closest door, which happened to be his father's daily office.

'Is there no mistake?' asked his father's voice. He sounded agitated, or possibly excited. It was difficult to tell, but the sound of footsteps suggested that he was pacing. Somebody was at least and Elliot couldn't imagine the Duke pacing.

'There is no mistake,' replied the calm and controlled tenor of Oswald Baskerville. 'I have talked with Baron Sinclair and his description is detailed enough.'

'Could he be lying?' Elliot's father suggested and the pacing stopped. 'Could he have somehow found out about the, ah, item, and be fabricating its existence to gain profit?'

"The item"? I shouldn't be listening to this, Elliot thought, I really shouldn't. Yet, he didn't move, curious about the mysterious item. He wondered if asking Edward would help or if it was a secret.

'It is too dangerous a game,' Duke Baskerville replied. 'He would not risk losing everything for the little profit he can gain.'

'Little profit?' Earl Nightray asked. 'Are we talking about the same item, Oswald? Because I know that this can give him more than he owns now,' he added. Elliot felt his eyes widen at the statement. What could possibly be so valuable? Baron Sinclair, while owning less than either of the men in the office, still had quite a fortune himself.

'Money is not everything, Bernard,' said the Duke in a mildly scolding tone.

'I didn't mean gaining money, but power and you know it very well,' Elliot's father replied in a tone that Elliot had never heard him use towards the Duke.

'He would also be risking not only his life but also the lives of his wife and children, should too many people find out about the item,' Duke Baskerville pointed out calmly. 'Roman Sinclair is not a person who would gamble on a lie, when the stakes are that high,' he added. Unwillingly, Elliot wondered if the Duke was a person to gamble like that.

'It is flattering that he came to you with that, instead of going to Vessalius,' Elliot's father muttered after a pause. 'It is convenient that your nephew has invited young Edward and Emily to his birthday party.'

'Yes,' the Duke agreed. 'I have already told Baron Sinclair that he should accompany his children and we shall meet then. I just wanted to let you know in person, because this is too valuable an item to risk a messenger,' he added and two sets of footsteps approached the door. Elliot ducked into the shadows, hoping that they would be too distracted to notice him.

'Will you not be staying for dinner?' his father asked, opening the door to the office and letting the Duke pass first. The latter smiled slightly.

'Leo is just back from school and Lacie will have my head if I miss the dinner tonight,' he said in a tone of a caring uncle, rather than the cold and calm tone he was using until now. 'I trust that Elliot would appreciate your undivided attention tonight as well,' he added.

The answer of Elliot's father was too quiet for him to hear and half lost in the sounds of their footsteps, as they made their way down the corridor. He briefly contemplated sneaking into the office to look for clues, but discarded the idea. If that "item" was so precious that the Duke came to the manor himself, then they wouldn't have left anything out that might lead a potential spy onto the trail.

Curiosity eating him alive, Elliot made his way towards the dining room. There was one good thing about growing up, he realised: soon this kind of affairs will not be kept secret from him.


	2. Tomorrow may not come

**Ch. 2: Tomorrow may not come**

The week until Leo's birthday party passed in an eye-blink. Between lessons, trying to spy on his own father and his mother's fussing over him, Elliot barely had the time to prepare the gift for his friend before it was time to leave for the Baskerville manor.

Both his parents were going with him, his mother to help Lacie with the organisation of the party and his father to relax. At least that was the official version, because Elliot now knew that his father would be meeting with Roman Sinclair and Oswald Baskerville, discussing some mysterious item.

He wished there was a way to eavesdrop on them, however, knowing Duke Baskerville, he would put one of his people on the corridor to prevent exactly that. Depending on where they met, he might be able to sit under the window, but, with the kids running around, he would doubtlessly be spotted too early. Besides, he could hope that he would be informed of the new development sooner or later.

All those thoughts passed through his head as they drove in silence to the Baskerville manor, where they would be among the first guests, as it was planned. Upon arrival, they were greeted by none other than Jack Vessalius, an older version of Oz. He had green eyes in exactly the same shade as Oz and his blond hair was sticking out in such a similar fashion that Elliot found it suspicious.

'Earl Nightray,' Jack said with a wide smile plastered across his face. 'It's a pleasure to see you again,' he added and turned to bow at Elliot's mother before ruffling up Elliot's hair in a friendly gesture. 'How are you Elliot? Would you believe that I haven't yet had the time to see Oz since he came back from school?'

'That is not a surprise, since you spend all your time here,' Earl Nightray replied, not bothering to hide his dislike. Jack's smile faltered for a moment, before returning with full force when the man announced that he and Lacie were thinking about getting married finally.

'Is that true, Lacie?' Elliot's mother asked, turning to the young woman who just appeared behind Jack. Lacie had dark hair and wine-red eyes and was always smiling. She certainly didn't look like she could be old enough to be a mother of Leo, Elliot thought suddenly, comparing her with his mother.

'Lady Lacie,' he greeted her with a bow, making her laugh and remind him that she didn't like to be addressed like an old woman. She hugged him, as usual. 'It's nice to see you again,' he added politely, mindful to drop the "lady".

'Leo and the kids are in the garden already, as you can probably hear,' she told him and he excused himself immediately, knowing that it was expected. The closer he was to the entrance to the garden, the louder were the shouts and squeals and he was amazed that only three kids could create so much noise.

As every year, Lacie profited from the warm, summer weather, to organise Leo's party in the gardens outside. There was a large lawn, right in front of the manor that seemed to have been put there explicitly for such occasions. It was surrounded by trees and bushes, naturally delimiting the space.

'Elliot,' he heard and turned to see Alice running towards him. She was a spitting image of her mother, except for the eyes, which were the same colour as Oswald's: violet. With a grin, Elliot grabbed her under her arms, when she came close enough, lifted her and turned, making her all but fly around him, provoking a delighted squeal.

'Me too, me too,' Vincent whined when Elliot put Alice back on the ground. He looked at the blond, trying to not be distracted by his mismatched eyes.

'You're too big Vincent,' Leo called from where he was sitting a bit away, reading a book.

'Am not,' Vincent pouted, crossing his arms in defiance. He looked almost half his age when he did that and Elliot had to laugh.

'Are too,' Alice counted, sticking her tongue out and pulling Vincent's hair before taking off as he chased her, shouting loudly about how unfair it was. Smiling at their antics, Elliot made his way towards Leo, pulling the small packet out of his pocket.

'Happy birthday,' he said, offering the gift to his friend, who took it with a bright smile and said that it would join the pile of gifts because he was not allowed to open them without Alice, Vince and Gil attending the ceremony.

'They made me chase them just moments ago and I'm dead,' Leo added and took a sip of the lemonade he had in a tall glass. Elliot glanced at the chaotic game of tag, joined now also by Gilbert. 'I bet you whatever you want that their clothes will not be intact when the guests arrive and the effort the servants put will go to waste.'

'And why do I hear jealousy in your voice?' Elliot asked, laughing. He was suddenly overcome with the desire to do something stupid, since it was the last summer he would be able to do so. Leo laughed as well, putting away the book.

'Probably because it's there,' he answered. Neither of them protested when Alice demanded that they join them.

Caught in the game of tag, Elliot had to admit that all three kids have gotten faster during the time he has been at school. They were also awesomely good at avoiding being caught in the last moment, twisting away just before Elliot could touch their shoulders. He needed to catch one of them soon, he thought, because Leo was starting to laugh at him openly.

'Now that is not a common sight,' mocked a sunny voice and Elliot turned to look at Oz, who was grinning from ear to ear. Panting, Elliot conceded defeat in the same moment as Alice noticed the guests and ran towards Ada with a happy shout. 'I will cherish the memories for as long as I live,' Oz added, laughing.

'Try catching them if you're so smart,' Elliot challenged. 'We will see who will be laughing then,' he added, unwilling to acknowledge his bruised ego. It was a stupid game, he reminded himself, I will not be humiliated by a Vessalius. No, he corrected, by Oz.

'Challenge accepted, but let me wait till they tire themselves out,' Oz laughed, dispelling Elliot's anger. Leo joined them and so did Edward, moments later.

Edward's arrival reminded Elliot about the secret he wanted to uncover, but he supposed it was already too late. Baron Sinclair didn't come out with his children, leaving them only with their white-haired guard. The Duke and Elliot's father were nowhere to be seen either, so the meeting had already started.

Lacie called them all to the tables and the feast began, under discreet surveillance of the Baskerville guards, dressed in red cloaks. Elliot could see them, walking in front of the manor or leaning against the trees, always watchful in case something bad should happen to the important children gathered in the middle of the lawn.

As every year, Elliot found himself quickly tired by the noisy meeting. A couple of squealing kids were one thing, but a table full of teenagers trying to all speak at once: that was too much. It didn't matter that they all got older from year to year, because their younger siblings would often come, graciously invited by Lacie.

Lunch passed and the younger kids resumed games, while the older pretended they didn't feel like joining. Excusing himself from the table, Elliot made his way to sit behind his favourite tree. Every year, he found himself sitting behind that tree, hidden from view by the thick, though partly hollow, trunk.

He wasn't really hiding, because everybody knew where he was. When time would come for opening the gifts, somebody would come to pick him up and then Oz would make fun that he has been napping. Besides, there was one of the red-cloaked guards in his field of vision, semi-hidden by the thick bushes that grew near the tree.

I should be profiting from the fun I could have this year, he thought lazily. After all, the following year he would have graduated from the school and would very probably be expected to sit with Lacie and his mother, and Jack and whoever else there might be. With a sigh, he contemplated going back to the table or playing tag with the kids, when Gilbert suddenly all but crashed into him.

Golden eyes widened momentarily, before the heir of the dukedom put a finger to his lips and hid inside the hollow trunk. Elliot fought to restrain his smile, especially when, moments later, Vincent came running.

'Hey, Elliot, have you seen Gil?' he asked. When Elliot said that he hasn't, both the wine-red and the golden eye looked at him carefully, as though the nine-year-old wanted to see inside his soul. 'Are you quite sure?' Vincent asked.

'I'm very sure,' Elliot assured him as seriously as he could manage. 'I haven't heard him either, so he must be pretty far from here,' he added. With another careful look, Vincent left, only to come back a minute later. It took all of Elliot's willpower to not burst laughing but say that Gilbert really wasn't there.

Two minutes after Vincent was gone for the second time, Gilbert came out of the tree, smiling brilliantly at Elliot.

'Thanks Elliot,' he said, sitting down next to him. 'Vince always finds me immediately, it's no fun,' he complained with a small pout. As Elliot looked into his golden eyes he found it quite surreal that this boy would eventually become his lord.

'No problem Gil,' he assured the kid. 'Are you sure he won't come back?' he asked, but Gilbert only laughed and said that Vincent needed to find some people first and then it wouldn't be so bad to be found. After all, he didn't want Vincent to be sad, he just didn't want to be the first one found. That was some twisted logic, Elliot decided, but he had long since given up trying to understand the two brothers.

'On the good side, I also find him really fast,' Gilbert added after a pause. Rustling of the bushes next to them made Elliot look away from the boy sitting next to him, only to realise that the red-clad guard was no longer there. It made him frown. He knew that the guards were not supposed to vacate their positions, unless in emergency, which meant-

The bushes rustled again and Elliot thought he could see somebody hiding inside. His heart was suddenly hammering in his chest and a shiver ran down his spine. Not so far away, the kids were still making a racket.

'Hey, Gil, I think we should go somewhere else,' he whispered, getting up. Gilbert stopped talking about when he had found Vincent in a cupboard once. 'Come on, quickly,' he added, trying to not sound nervous. Surely, even that one guard missing didn't mean anything, he told himself, because they were protected by more than that.

'What's hap-' Gilbert started. He never got to finish, screaming in fear as a red-clad figure shot out of the bushes and grabbed his hand. Acting on instinct, Elliot slammed the person in their face, making them release Gilbert.

'Run,' he ordered the boy, fully intending to follow. 'Now, run and scream,' he added louder when Gilbert seemed to be frozen in panic. A twig snapped broken and snapped Gilbert out of his stupor. As the boy turned to leave, Elliot felt somebody grab his hair.

He screamed and tried to twist away, but another hand grabbed his arm painfully. He needed to stay there until Gilbert managed to raise alarm, he thought, fighting against the hands grabbing him.

The sound of tearing tissue crashed against his ears and he got an idea, in case he would get kidnapped. Blindly, he found the Nightray emblem on his chest and tore it off. Unfortunately, putting focus on that resulted in the hand finally getting a firm hold across his chest, trapping one of his arms.

When something soft and wet covered his mouth and nose, he tried to not breathe. Instead, he elbowed the person holding him, earning a grunt of pain and a momentary decrease of pressure against his face.

Then he noticed a second figure, holding the struggling Gilbert and he cursed, doubling his efforts even as his lungs screamed at him to breathe. He would have to give up soon.

The sounds of children's play turned surreal.

A sharp pain made him gasp and it was all over. His head swam as he involuntarily inhaled the sickly sweet scent. His moves became sluggish.

He saw that Gilbert was carried into the bushes, unconscious, before everything went dark.


	3. Desecrating our sanctuaries

**Ch. 3: Desecrating our sanctuaries**

Kevin Regnard has been a knight for the Sinclair family for a bit more than six years, when Baron Sinclair told him that he would become a guard of Edward and Emily. That was only a couple of weeks ago and he never suspected that guarding the two kids, who he thought were great, entailed attending birthday parties of their friends. Yet, there he was, sitting at the table with Lady Baskerville and Countess Nightray, who both insisted that he wasn't going to stand next to them while they ate, watching the younger kids play hide and seek and some game of tag. Jack Vessalius was sitting next to him, a disconcerting presence in the Baskerville manor to say at least, happily commenting on the game of tag.

Kevin didn't like it when he couldn't see Emily, who was hiding, but Lady Baskerville told him that the manor was well protected at all times and nobody unexpected could get in. Was he that easy to read? Or was it true what they said and those wine-red eyes saw more than they should?

He shuddered at the thought, not missing the slight smile on the woman's face. Then he mentally slapped his forehead, realising that he also had wine-red eyes and he saw everything just fine. That woman, he thought, she managed to creep me out just like that, I don't like it. He was distracted from that trail of thought, however, when a blond boy with mismatched eyes came up to the table, looking to be somewhere between pouting and bursting into tears.

'I cannot find Gil,' he complained and Kevin realised that this must have been the adopted son of Duke Baskerville. Lady Baskerville smiled at the boy kindly and asked if he had looked everywhere carefully.

'I looked everywhere,' the boy pouted. Vincent, wasn't that his name? Kevin wondered, watching how suspicion flitted across the boy's face. 'Everywhere except inside Elliot's tree, but Elliot said that he hasn't seen Gil,' he added. Well done kid, Kevin thought, carefully hiding his smile. 'And I even double checked, in case he lied!'

'Maybe Elliot was dozing off when Gilbert hid?' Lady Baskerville suggested with an amused smile, but the boy's eyes narrowed and anger flared in them. He was smarter than Kevin gave him credit for if he realised that he has been lied to so quickly. Weren't kids supposed to be more naïve?

The blond stormed away and picked up a fight with the brown-haired girl, Alice who was playing with Emily, before both he and the girl rushed away towards "Elliot's tree", or so Kevin assumed. Next to him, Jack was laughing about childish innocence and how Elliot destroyed a part of it for Vincent, but there was something strained in his voice.

A foreboding feeling overcame Kevin and he glanced around, relieved when he could see Emily playing now with the youngest of the Vessalius children, while Edward was talking with Leo Baskerville and a carbon copy of Jack Vessalius from a couple of years before. It was alarming how similar Oz was to his older brother.

'I see that the situation is under control, Lacie,' said a calm voice and Kevin turned to look at the Duke Baskerville, who has just arrived, together with Earl Nightray and Baron Sinclair. He got up from his seat immediately and bowed at them. Lady Baskerville might have a weird way to deal with servants, but he wasn't going to disrespect any of the men.

'If you're done then I suppose it's time to open the gifts,' Lady Baskerville said enthusiastically and waved at her son. Really, was that boy her son? Kevin couldn't help wondering. Then again, he knew that she wasn't as young as she looked and he did hear that she had led a crazy life before her brother became the Duke.

He glanced at the three men who settled down on the seats. Have they come into agreement? Kevin had no idea what it was that his master was proposing the other two, but it must have been really interesting, since they listened. It also must have been very dangerous, since he had been assigned to personally guard the children: up until now, the Sinclair family had few enemies and none that would be dangerous.

'How convenient that Vincent will bring Elliot and Gilbert,' Countess Nightray commented, with a pleasant, if cold smile. Like Lady Baskerville, she was very beautiful, however, unlike the lady, she looked her age, despite the shiny, blond hair. She has spoken too soon, if Vincent's and Alice's upset expressions were anything to judge by, Kevin thought, when the two kids reappeared.

'Gil was not in the tree,' Vincent announced, but he was not pouting this time and Kevin felt a shiver run down his spine. Something was very wrong, he felt it. 'Elliot wasn't there either, but look what Alice found,' the boy added and the girl gave something to her mother. Lady Baskerville's pale face turned chalk-white.

'Is everything alright?' her brother asked worriedly but she only put the object on the table: a Nightray emblem, exactly like the one the Earl was wearing. Countess Nightray gasped and looked ready to faint, even as the Duke turned to the closest guard and called him up.

'Lock all the gates immediately,' he commanded, his tone calm and composed but allowing no protests. 'Then search the manor and the grounds: Elliot Nightray and Gilbert are missing,' he added. Kevin had to give him the credit for remaining level-headed in the situation. As the guard left, he turned to the Nightrays and assured them that it was not easy to leave the grounds unnoticed.

Kevin wanted to offer his help, but he realised that it could be misread as the desire to hide something. After all, the Sinclair family was the one who provoked this serious meeting and, because the Baron came to the manor himself, was allowed the largest number of guards.

'Oz, Ada,' Jack suddenly exclaimed and looked wildly around, only calming down when he spotted his two younger siblings. Kevin narrowed his eyes at him, but the belated reaction could have been due to shock.

'Is everything alright, uncle?' Leo asked, coming up to the table. 'Vince and Alice are almost in tears and they're saying that Gil and Elliot are gone,' he added. Under the thin layer of politeness, Kevin could see worry. Some way to celebrate one's birthday, he thought bitterly.

It was needless to say that the party was over. The news about two missing kids spread quickly and the mood transformed from cheerful to worried and oppressive in an instant. Most demanded to be taken home. Duke Baskerville conceded but told the guards to search the carriages discreetly as they were leaving. Leo, Vincent and Alice were escorted inside by guards clad in red cloaks, Edward, Emily, Oz and Ada taken with them upon Leo's request.

'I'll take Oz and Ada home,' Jack said out of the blue, just as the two kids were about to step into the manor. 'Father would be furious if he knew that I didn't when such a thing has happened,' he added.

'How do we know that it is not your work, Vessalius?' Earl Nightray accused immediately, but the Duke put a calming hand on his shoulder and said to not throw suspicions around so easily. Lady Baskerville told Jack to take one of their carriages. Kevin wondered if it was a vote of confidence on her part or if she wanted him to leave the Vessalius carriage behind for closer inspection.

'Of course,' Jack said, not missing a beat. There was nothing worthwhile in the Vessalius carriage, Kevin thought. 'Oz, Ada, let's go,' he added, getting up and excusing himself politely.

'If I knew it would end up like that,' Baron Sinclair muttered, hiding his face in his hands, obviously blaming the mysterious item that he had. He stiffened when the Duke put a hand on his shoulder. Kevin wondered how the man remained so calm when his heir was very possibly abducted. Did he trust his security? Or did he have a different plan? Kevin didn't even want to consider that it was his work to kidnap the two and make the Baron agree to some conditions concerning their deal that were not advantageous to the Baron.

'We realised the risks when we started those negotiations,' the Duke said. The Earl muttered something about the security of this place and Kevin privately agreed with him: for someone to be able to penetrate the security of the primary manor of a duke was a scary idea.

'Is there anything I can do to help?' the Baron asked. Trying to pretend he wasn't listening, Kevin paid very careful attention. Now he would know if the Duke staged something horrible.

'In fact there is,' the Duke said, smiling slightly when the Baron looked at him with hope. 'If the boys were taken out of the manor, you can borrow us your knight,' he said, shocking everybody and Kevin the most. 'His eyes will be very helpful,' he added, looking straight into Kevin's eyes. The latter noticed, with the corner of his apparently helpful eyes, that Lady Baskerville smiled slightly.

'What-' he started and cut himself off, knowing that it was not his place to talk.

'Lacie has different obligations and might become biased, while Vincent is way too young to help us look for the boys. Plus he would be too emotional, since it is his beloved brother who is in danger,' the Duke continued, not looking away from Kevin.

'But my eyes are perfectly normal,' he protested finally, unable to stay silent anymore. Red eyes were shunned and he has had some problems because of them, but those were all fairy tales, right? The Duke's smile seemed to say otherwise and Kevin was relieved when the man finally looked away.

'We will give you Kevin back as soon as the boys are found,' he said to the Baron very matter-of-factly. 'As replacement, we will provide the best security for your children, if you so wish. It seems that there's no need to hide our little alliance anymore,' he added. Kevin's eyes widened: alliance? Just what was it that his master had found to result in an alliance with such a powerful family, rather than a simple exchange?

'Of course, Kevin is all yours,' the Baron agreed in a distracted sort of tone. Kevin blinked at him, but had no time to process that easy consent, because two red-cloaked men arrived, saying that the guard who was nearest to the tree had been knocked out and didn't remember anything about the incident. His cloak had been taken and was found in the proximity of the carriages.

However, the boys were in none of the carriages that have left and the Vessalius carriage was cleared as well. Kevin knew it would be, or Jack Vessalius wouldn't have given it up so easily. One of the men asked, cautiously, if it was alright to search the Nightray and Sinclair carriages as well.

'Of course,' the Duke replied, not waiting for the consent of his allies. Kevin remembered his father saying that Duke Baskerville had the sort of absolute power in his estate that was the envy of all the members of peerage. Was his request for Kevin to join the search a mere politeness? What would he have done if the Baron refused?

As the guards left, he thought about their words and realised something.

'How could they have known where those two boys would be?' he asked, slightly worried when all eyes were on him. He should learn to not speak out of his turn. 'I mean-'

'I know what you mean,' the Duke cut him off. 'It is well known that Elliot likes to hide from parties and he has always hid in the same place. Thus it could be that Elliot was the intended target and Gilbert was only there by accident.'

'But that assumes that it's somebody who knows this household,' Kevin protested. Without hesitation, the Earl hissed that it must have been Vessalius.

'Do you think that Jack would risk everything he had achieved?' Lady Baskerville asked the Earl in a cold tone. 'He has been begging to be able to stay here for years and now that his wish has been granted-'

'How do you know that he wasn't doing that just for this moment?' the Earl countered. A valid question, if Kevin ever heard one, except nobody could have known that his master would find that item and offer it to the Baskervilles and Nightrays. He knew himself that his master had been hesitating for a long time, between Duke Vessalius and Duke Baskerville. The choice had only been made a week ago, which gave an awfully short time for someone to find out about the item and plan this stunt.

'Could it be like the Duke suggested?' he dared to speak. 'That Elliot Nightray was the only intended target and thus the kidnapping has nothing to do with your, eh, negotiations?' he said, not really liking what his question implied. It could still mean that the Vessalius family was out for blood and it put the life of the other boy in considerable danger, if he was deemed an unnecessary burden.

'It could,' the Earl admitted doubtfully. 'However, if that would be unconnected to our negotiations then wouldn't it be more reasonable to kidnap Elliot on his way from school, when security is much less?' he asked back. Another valid question, Kevin thought.

Nobody looked particularly surprised when the guards returned, saying that there was no trace of Elliot and Gilbert in the manor, nor had the guards of the gates seen anything suspicious.


	4. Harder to breathe

**Ch. 4: Harder to breathe**

Everything was black, but the jarring felt like a carriage. He was sure that his eyes were open, but he couldn't see a thing, so he couldn't be in a carriage. He tried to move, only to discover that he was bound so completely that he couldn't even twitch. He tried to speak only to realise that there was a thick piece of rope in his mouth and a stretch of tissue over it, successfully preventing him from making a noise.

Why was his brain so sluggish? Ah yes, he remembered the sickly sweet smell.

The sounds were that of a carriage, so maybe he was in one after all. He thought he could hear voices talking, but they weren't loud enough to be sure, much less try and recognise them. What now, he wondered. He couldn't move or speak, he couldn't see or hear. He sniffed, but the only thing he could smell was wood.

He wanted to cough, but the gag wouldn't let him. It was hard to breathe and the air was somewhat stale, but not exactly. There was not a lot of air available, he realised. Hopefully, whoever kidnapped him, knew that and he wouldn't die of suffocation.

Gilbert, he remembered, eyes opening wide. Was he there as well? Or have they been separated? He tried to listen for breathing, but the sounds of carriage and his own frantic heartbeat drowned it. He tried to breathe in deeply, to calm down, but there seemed to be not enough air. I don't want to die like that, he thought over and over again, panicking.

The carriage stopped. Door opened and some people went out, then the door closed and silence fell for a moment. Then the carriage moved again, although not far and silence fell again. What the hell?

He forcefully calmed down, breathing in shallow breaths and trying to listen. He couldn't hear anybody breathe next to him, so maybe Gilbert was not kidnapped with him. He hoped against hope that it was the case, because it would have been his fault. He should have reacted faster. He shouldn't have wasted his time on that whispered warning. He should have just grabbed the boy's hand and dragged him towards the rest of the guests, where they would have been safe.

He stiffened when he heard the door to the carriage open and people talk. Should he pretend to be knocked out? He closed his eyes a second before a weird sound and a gust of air that smelled like horses.

'They're still out,' said a voice he didn't recognise, but he focused on the pronoun: they. His heart cringed. He wasn't alone.

'Let's stack them away,' another voice said and rough hands grabbed Elliot and hauled him out of the carriage. He would have gasped in pain when he was brutally dumped over somebody's shoulder, but the gag rendered it impossible.

He dared to open his eyes, but the only thing he saw was the floor of what must have been stables and the red cloak of the person manhandling him. The red of Baskervilles, he thought, but that was impossible. Even if it would have been some intricate plan of the Duke, they wouldn't be treated like that, especially not Gilbert.

The men said nothing.

The floor of the stables turned into stones and then became stairs leading downwards. The smell changed into one that Elliot has always associated with dungeons and prisons. A distant scream echoed and he shuddered.

'I think he's coming to,' the man carrying him said. Elliot would have swallowed, but his mouth was dry. He closed his eyes as the man stopped. He heard a key screech in the lock and then the door creaked open. Two more steps and he was roughly thrown down, his head colliding with the stone floor.

The next thing Elliot saw was a pair of tear-filled, wide open and terrified, golden eyes of his future lord. He blinked, groaning in pain. Gilbert opened his mouth to say something, but only a sob escaped him.

The gag and the bounds, Elliot realised with some sluggishness, were gone.

'Are you alright?' he asked between gasps of pain as his brain registered the sore muscles and, above all, his hurting head.

'I thought you would never wake up,' Gilbert replied in a shaky voice, sniffing. Elliot closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. It was safe to assume that he had suffered a concussion. Gingerly, he tried to sit up, relieved when the wave of nausea passed without him puking his guts out. Slowly, he moved to lean against the wall, not trusting himself to stay upright and not wanting to hit his head again, should he fall or faint.

First things first, he thought and took a deep breath.

'Are you alright Gilbert? Are you hurt?' he asked again, peering closely at the boy. There were some scratches on his face, probably from the gag. However, there was no blood on his clothes, as far as Elliot could see in the dim light of the cell.

'I'm alright,' Gilbert replied, sniffing again. He seemed to have calmed down a bit and Elliot smiled to give him more courage. 'Are you hurt?' he asked back and Elliot winced.

'I hit my head badly,' he said, deciding to be honest. 'But I seem to be alright otherwise, if a bit sore. Have you been awake for long?' he asked. Gilbert nodded slightly. 'Sorry for keeping you waiting then,' he replied with a forced laugh.

'I thought you would die,' Gilbert whispered, looking at him as though he was still afraid that Elliot might drop dead on the spot. It was hard to keep the encouraging smile plastered on his face, Elliot realised, especially when Gilbert was telling him that somebody checked in on them some time ago and promised to be back soon.

'How did they look like?' Elliot asked, hoping for a clue. Not that knowing who held them would help, except to gauge their aim.

'They wore a red cloak with a hood hiding their face,' Gilbert replied with a small shudder. 'I didn't recognise the voice either,' he added.

'Well, we'll find out sooner or later,' Elliot commented, keeping his tone light. 'Do you have any idea where we are?' he asked, looking around.

The cell was small and dimly lit, through a thin, horizontal window, which meant that they weren't entirely underground. The sounds filtering through the window were that of nature: birds singing and a rustle of grass and leaves. Nothing particular that would tell him where they were. The cell itself was nothing particular either. It had one bed, or rather a thick, straw mat, which maybe would be big enough for the two of them to sleep on. The door was wooden but, even from the distance, Elliot could see that it was solid.

A scream echoed somewhere outside the cell, but too close for comfort. Torture chambers, Elliot thought with sickening clarity. Gilbert made a small, scared sound and he focused his attention on the terrified boy. He could see Gilbert's somewhat calm façade crumbling rapidly as another scream echoed outside the cell.

'Hey, come here,' he said and wrapped his arms around Gilbert, when the boy sat on his lap, hiding his face in Elliot's clothes. He was trembling in fear. 'It will be alright,' Elliot whispered into the black hair. 'Those idiots are mocking the Baskervilles by wearing the red cloaks and it will make the Duke angry.'

'I've never seen the Duke angry,' Gilbert mumbled. It always puzzled Elliot why he wasn't referring to the man as "father", but it was not the place and time to ask. Instead, he forced a short laugh, hoping that it didn't sound too faked.

'Duke Baskerville is awesomely scary when he gets angry,' he assured the younger boy in a light tone. 'He'll stop at nothing to punish those who make him angry either, so he'll get us out in no time,' he promised. His stomach twisted as he spoke those words, because he knew that there was a huge chance it was a lie.

'How do you know?' Gilbert asked, sounding slightly calmer than before. His trembling subsided also. Did he believe Elliot's lie? The older boy closed his eyes and delicately leaned his head against the stone wall.

'Once, just before you came to live in the manor, me and Leo sneaked into the Duke's office and he found us there,' Elliot admitted, laughing shortly at the memory. He told Gilbert that it was the most scared he has ever been, when the Duke entered the office and glared at them furiously. He and Leo have been punished for disrespecting the Duke's outright order and never even thought of visiting the office again.

'I was in a place like this before I came to live in the manor, as punishment,' Gilbert mumbled after a short moment of silence that followed Elliot's story. The latter stiffened as the meaning of those words sank in. 'Together with Vince, but we weren't there for long,' he added. Elliot hugged the younger boy tighter, feeling sick at the images his words evoked.

'I'll do everything I can so that you don't get hurt, I promise,' he whispered. 'The Duke will find us, but until then, I will protect you.' He meant to keep that promise, even if he realised that it might not be up to him, eventually.

'I don't want to see you get hurt either,' Gilbert whispered back. 'It is the worst when you see other people get hurt,' he added, sounding more serious than a ten-year-old ever should.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Elliot did the only thing he could think of: he changed the topic.

'That time when we sneaked into the Duke's office,' he said as calmly as he could. 'The Duke made me and Leo help Lacie with her rose garden. You might think that it's not a bad punishment, but have you see Lacie's rose garden?'

'It's huge,' Gilbert admitted.

'Exactly,' Elliot agreed. 'And back in those times Lacie insisted that she needed to be the one taking care of the roses because the gardeners didn't know how to do it properly. So me and Leo had to spend a week with her, learning how to trim the roses and how to weed the ground so that nothing ugly grew in the garden. It was after that week that Leo looked up gardeners and introduced them to his mother.'

'Really?' Gilbert asked, looking up slightly to judge if Elliot was lying. He wasn't.

'Really,' he assured the younger boy, smiling at the memories. 'The three first failed their trial periods and were chased away by a furious Lacie, who probably never forgave them for ruining some of the roses. However, the fourth gardener managed to make the white roses bloom more beautifully than ever and he was kept on the post.'

'Alice and Vince like the white roses best,' Gilbert said thoughtfully. 'It's good that Lacie found a gardener to make them bloom so beautifully.'

'Lacie's white roses are the most beautiful I've ever seen,' Elliot agreed easily, looking for another topic, when this one runs out. It wouldn't hurt if they had something else to think about than their current situation, at least until it was still possible.

Unfortunately, the key screeched in the lock of the door, ending their relatively peaceful moment. Elliot tightened his arms again around Gilbert, as the latter curled up closer to him, trembling again. He drew a shaky breath, forcing himself to stay calm, as the door creaked open and revealed a tall figure, wrapped in a red cloak, its face hidden in the shade of the deep hood.

'Welcome,' the figure said in a distinctly male voice that Elliot didn't recognise. 'I see that you have gotten all comfortable in our best guest cell of the torture corner,' the person laughed coldly. Elliot couldn't stop the shudder that ran down his spine.

'Silent, aren't we?' the man asked, taking a step closer. Elliot wished that he could move, but even if it wasn't for Gilbert's weight pinning him to the floor, he wasn't sure whether his head would allow any sudden movement. The man kneeled next to them, so close that he could touch them if he extended his head. 'We will hopefully change that soon, because I'm looking forward to a little chat with you,' he added, chuckling when Gilbert whimpered pathetically.

'Whatever you want,' Elliot said, forcing his tone to be firm. 'You are better off not hurting us, because there are people you don't want to make angry,' he added, wondering what has gotten into him to threaten the man.

'Is that so, little boy?' the man laughed. 'We know your worth and we know that you don't have to be intact to be worth just about everything. Alive will suffice.'

The threat in those words was obvious. Almost subconsciously, Elliot wrapped his arms tighter around Gilbert and tried to move him away, glaring hatefully, as the man extended his hand towards the boy. The man hesitated and then his hand moved to grab Elliot's hair, twisting his head painfully.

'You will regret that bravery, boy,' the man promised and pushed Elliot's head back, to collide lightly against the wall. Elliot's vision swam, stars dancing in front of his eyes.


	5. Everything won't be alright

**Ch. 5: Everything won't be alright**

As he was trying to blink his vision back into focus, the situation went from bad to worse. His hands, wrapped around Gilbert, were forcefully removed at the same time as the weight of the younger boy disappeared. Gilbert's panicked shout reached his ears, but there was nothing he could do, pulled upright against the wall by two people.

When he could finally see properly again, Gilbert was held by two hooded and cloaked figures, upright in front of him. He didn't even try to hide his panic, struggling uselessly against the much stronger opponents. Elliot wished that he could struggle too, but his head firmly opposed to the idea.

He glanced at the two hooded figures holding his arms stretched to the sides, forcing him to stay flat against the wall. Besides the four and the man who was talking to him earlier, there was one more figure, half hidden in the shadows in the corner of the room, wearing the same red cloak and hood hiding its face.

It was safe to assume that their aggressors didn't want to be recognised, which probably meant that they were somebody Elliot or Gilbert knew, or their employers were at the very least. The man also claimed that he knew "their worth", which meant that they were familiar with the peerage. Could he find a way to reason with them so that neither he nor Gilbert gets hurt? What could they possibly hope to achieve by kidnapping two heirs of noble families? It was a dangerous gamble at best.

The phrase made him pause, but he had no more time to think, because the hooded man spoke again.

'Now that we are ready,' he said. 'Let's set the rules for our little game, shall we? I ask. You answer my questions or there will be blood,' he threatened. Elliot swallowed nervously. To what limits could he answer? 'Your blood or his, I haven't decided yet,' he added and Elliot wondered if there was a question he wouldn't answer. 'Are we clear?'

The man didn't expect an answer, did he? Elliot glared at him, but the man came up, producing a dagger out of nowhere. He pressed the blade against Elliot's throat hard enough to hurt and repeated the question.

'Yes, we are clear,' Elliot replied hastily. If only the man would stay focused on him, he could stay in control of the situation. He hoped.

'Good,' the man said mockingly and withdrew his dagger. Elliot breathed in deeply, forcing himself to stay calm and focused. 'I will warn you that I am not a patient man, so you better not hesitate either.'

'Right,' Elliot muttered, unable to erase the irony from his tone. The man in front of him stiffened, but then laughed and said that he liked a good attitude in his subjects. He found it refreshing.

'Where is the diary?' he asked without any preamble. Elliot blinked at him, wondering if he had heard correctly. His mind raced.

'The diary?' he asked back finally, afraid that if he didn't say anything, the man would get violent. A growl warned him that it might have not been the best idea after all.

'Don't play around kid, or you will seriously regret your guts. The time to be brave is over and now you have time to try and stay alive,' the man said, his dagger glinting in the dim light, as he waved his hand. Elliot took another deep breath, steeling himself for the inevitable. He never expected that the man would ask questions that he literally couldn't answer.

'I don't know anything about any diary, I swear,' he said, hoping that the man would see the truth in his eyes. He didn't. He swung his unarmed hand, fisted, into Elliot's stomach, knocking the air out of him. Elliot screamed and then coughed. He vaguely heard Gilbert shout something in protest and he wished he could tell the kid to shut up and not draw attention to himself.

'You are the heir to the Nightray family and you don't know what diary I'm talking about?' the man asked mockingly, pulling on Elliot's hair again as he leaned in close. 'Don't make me laugh kid.'

He was about to answer, but the man pulled out the dagger again and pushed it against Elliot's throat again, telling him to choose his words carefully. His thoughts raced until he found the only possible option. He hoped that it was true, because the man really didn't seem like he was joking.

'You,' he swallowed. 'You are not talking about the thing that Baron Sinclair has found, are you?' he asked, hoping that, by now, the Baron and his family were secured, should the kidnappers go after them.

'Ah, so you do know about it,' the man said, pulling away a little. 'I'm actually disappointed at how little it took for you to admit it,' he added and stepped away. The problem was that he really didn't know anything, he thought. He shook his head.

'I guessed that it must be the diary you're looking for,' he told the man, hating his voice for trembling like it did. 'I know nothing about this, this item. Nor do I know where it is,' he added quickly.

'Are you quite sure about that?' the man asked. He ignored Elliot's assurance that he really didn't know a thing about the diary. 'Maybe you just need a little persuasion, like the first time?' he added. He sounded as though he was smirking. Elliot's stomach churned, when the man turned away and walked around the person holding Gilbert, to stand behind the boy.

'I just know that Baron Sinclair found something valuable and that he wanted to give it to Duke Baskerville,' he said in a rush. He could tell that much, those men already knew that probably. 'I eavesdropped on my father and that's how I found out about it at all. They never told me anything and I have no idea where the diary is right now,' he added.

The man laughed, but said nothing. Instead, he grabbed Gilbert's hair and pulled the boy's head to face Elliot. The dagger appeared in his other hand in an unspoken threat.

'I told you everything I know,' Elliot yelled, thrashing against the restraining hands, even as his head protested. He only stopped when a dizzy spell overcame him and he knew that he remained standing merely because of the hands holding him firmly.

'You started by saying that you know nothing,' the man pointed out and let the dagger pierce the skin on Gilbert's cheek slightly, making the boy whimper in pain or fear as a drop of blood slid down his cheek. 'Now I know that you actually knew about the diary in the first place,' the man continued, dragging the dagger upwards a couple of centimetres, creating a red line as Gilbert screamed and tried unsuccessfully to move his face away from the knife. 'What will I find out if I try to cut up this pretty face?' he asked.

'I told you I know nothing,' was all that Elliot could yell, unable to look away from the terrified, golden gaze that bore into him. 'What the hell are you? I really don't know anything,' he added, unable to stop the desperate tone from entering his voice.

'And if I threaten to remove those big, bright eyes from that pretty face?' the man asked as though he was discussing weather. The dagger left Gilbert's cheek as the boy's head was pulled backwards. Elliot could see him squeeze his eyes shut, making tears fall. The man laughed maniacally, the sound making the hairs stand on the back of Elliot's neck.

'What the hell is wrong with you?' Elliot howled. 'I know nothing about your damned diary and I couldn't care less if it burned in hell,' he added, burning anger replacing his despair when the man laughed again.

Then, suddenly, the laughter ceased and the man straightened up, letting go of Gilbert and putting the dagger away. Elliot watched him, breathing heavily, afraid of what might happen next. Every second of the stretching silence made him more nervous, yet he dared not move to not provoke something horrible.

'What do you know,' the man said in a calm and surprised tone. 'You really don't know anything about that diary,' he added. Elliot blinked at him incredulously. Was that man serious? He followed the man's gaze to the figure in the corner, noticing how the person pulled the hood deeper.

So I know that person, he thought.

It was a startling revelation, but he was numb from the fear and the adrenaline slowly wearing off as he understood that this questioning only had one aim: to confirm that they didn't know anything about the diary. Whoever it was that has kidnapped him and Gil wanted that diary badly and they were hoping to find out where it was.

The hooded figure turned away and something vaguely familiar gleamed under the cloak for a second, too fast to understand what it was. He stared as the figure left the cell in quick paces. Then he turned to the man, who has also been watching the figure and now glanced back at Elliot.

'You heard the man,' he said offhandedly. The hands holding Elliot disappeared at the same moment as the people holding Gilbert let go and the boy crumbled to the ground with a gasp. It took Elliot a moment before he slid down along the wall as well, feeling the small wound on his neck.

Their tormentors were gone as fast as they have appeared, closing the door behind them and locking it. For a moment, Elliot focused on breathing to not faint. He tried to analyse the situation, but his brain seemed to have stopped working momentarily.

However, when a sob echoed through the cell, he turned towards Gilbert. The boy was sitting on the ground as the men had left him, one hand flattened against his cheek, while the other entangled in his hair in the place where the man had pulled it. His shoulders were shaking as he cried.

Slowly, he crawled towards him and put a gentle hand on one shoulder, not wanting to startle him too badly. Gilbert all but jumped when Elliot's hand made contact with his shoulder and he looked up at him, smearing the blood and tears together as he moved his hand off his cheek. Then, surprising Elliot, he flung himself at him, wrapping his arms around Elliot's neck as he sobbed into his shoulder.

'I'm so sorry,' Elliot whispered, because the comforting nonsense would not pass his lips. His voice was hoarse from the screaming, so he cleared his throat. 'I've done a lousy job protecting you, even though I promised,' he added. Gilbert mumbled something between the sobs, but he had to ask him to repeat.

'I said: don't be an idiot,' Gilbert repeated, louder and clearer, pulling away. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and sniffed. Dumbfounded at the sudden change of attitude, Elliot laughed and Gilbert looked at him worriedly. 'Are you losing your mind Elliot?' he asked seriously. 'Vince used to laugh like that when things got really bad,' he added and the words shocked Elliot into seriousness.

'I'm not losing my mind yet,' he assured the boy, taking off his cravat. 'Let me wipe the blood from your face. Is the cut deep you think?'

'No. It was just to make you go mad and tell them everything,' Gilbert replied very matter-of-factly. Elliot frowned at him, looking carefully for any sign of emotions. It came in a form of shaky breath, before Gilbert asked if he was going to wipe that blood or not.

'You're awfully calm all of the sudden,' he noted, gently removing the blood from Gilbert's cheek. The cut really looked shallow and it has already stopped bleeding almost entirely, so it was not a problem. However, he noticed the tears welling in Gilbert's eyes and realised that the temporary calmness was just a façade.

'I'm the heir of the Baskerville dukedom, I should behave in such situations,' the boy said, blinking in a useless attempt to stop the tears from falling. Elliot smiled slightly and wrapped his arms around the boy.

'And I'm the heir of Nightrays. Plus I'm older than you and I'm still terrified,' he replied quietly, as Gilbert hugged him tightly. In a way, he was grateful to not be alone because he was afraid that Gilbert's presence and the responsibility he felt for the younger boy were the only things keeping him calm. He felt horrible for thinking like that.

He hoped that help wasn't far.


	6. I'll whisper you this truth

**Ch. 6: I'll whisper you this truth uncompromised**

Kevin Regnard, the knight pledged to protect the Sinclair family, was not exactly sure how he had found himself in his current situation. One moment his master, Baron Sinclair, was telling Duke Baskerville that he could use Kevin's help and the next moment Kevin was sitting in the Duke's private office, one on one with the imposing man.

Everything that happened in between was a bit of a blur. It surely included securing the children and finding out that Gilbert Baskerville and Elliot Nightray have been taken away from the manor, by force, judging by the ripped off Nightray emblem that Elliot had left behind.

He glanced at the Duke. It has been at least five minutes since the man sat down behind his desk and folded his hands, elbows resting on the wooden surface, forehead propped against his fingers. Should he say something? He has only ever interacted with Baron Sinclair and his family, who were almost treating him as though he was a part of their family. However, this man in front of him was completely different.

'Could you explain me what is so special about my eyes?' he asked finally, figuring two things. First: they were wasting their time. Second: that was probably why the Duke wanted to speak with him in private in the first place.

The man looked up at him and cleared his throat, inviting Kevin to sit on the chair in front, which the latter did, albeit stiffly. It was clear that he was worried by the disappearance of his heir, yet his voice was cold and composed, almost emotionless.

'Most of the things that we will discuss here should never leave this room,' the Duke said seriously, in the same tone. Kevin nodded his understanding. He didn't need to hear that to realise that a private audience was not a whim. The Duke didn't strike Kevin as somebody to do anything on a whim.

'Individuals with red eyes are shunned in our society, as you most probably know from your own experience. They are so, for a very good reason,' the Duke started, after a pause, shocking Kevin. However, before he had the chance to protest, the Duke continued. 'Red eyes can see into other people's souls.'

'What?' he couldn't help the exclamation. The Duke smiled slightly, patronisingly. In any other circumstances, Kevin would be annoyed at that smile, but he was willing to forget it in order to get an explanation of the statement. He has heard it, of course, from people who ran away from him, but he never expected it to be more than fairy tales or naïve, folk believes.

'Untrained, it is similar to a very good intuition,' the Duke said calmly. 'I can bet that your intuition is pretty good, isn't it?' he asked and Kevin was forced to nod. 'You can usually guess what people are feeling, if they are happy or worried. You know with good probability when people lie.'

'And that is what you want from me? To investigate this case and tell you when people are lying to you?' he asked. It was needless to confirm the Duke's statements because there has been no doubt in the man's tone.

'For the moment, I want you to keep a careful, yet discreet, eye on Jack Vessalius and see if he is mixed in this affair,' the Duke replied, surprising Kevin yet again.

'Vessalius? But you said-' he was cut off when the Duke waved his hand dismissively.

'What do you know about the item that your master has uncovered?' he asked instead and Kevin blinked at him.

'Nothing,' he said finally, truthfully. 'Master Roman never told me what it was or how it was important. I know that it gives him some sort of power, obviously, or the likes of you would not ally with him,' he added, hoping that he wasn't being too impertinent.

'The likes of me, eh?' the Duke repeated, but he didn't seem to be affronted. 'You are right of course and what I will tell you now about this item is strictly confidential,' he added and Kevin didn't need him to voice any threats to know that they were hidden in the statement.

'Some time ago, during the uneasy moments of the kingdom, some of the noble families did things they shouldn't have done,' the Duke admitted uneasily. 'They tried their best to bury their dirty deeds and the only actual proof of them is the diary of the Archduchess Rainsworth, who documented the contraventions of some families. It has gone missing soon after the Archduchess' death and has been all but forgotten until your master found it recently.'

'And you want to use that material to blackmail the families mentioned,' Kevin supplied.

'I want to keep the truth buried, except if it fits my needs,' the Duke replied in a slightly mocking tone. Kevin opened his mouth but the Duke raised his hand. 'Burning the diary will only take care of part of the problem, since Baron Sinclair admits to have read it. And, before that idea gets into your head, I don't plan to murder the Baron for that. It is those kinds of deeds that are documented in the diary and I have no desire to commit the same mistakes as my predecessors.'

Kevin didn't need any more explanations. Because his master has read the diary and claimed to remember its contents, the Baskervilles and the Nightrays were willing to protect the man from harm and "ally" themselves with him, at least officially. Such an alliance was a step up for the Sinclairs and a possibility of higher gains. In return, the Baron would keep the secrets and give the diary to the Duke to do as he wished with it.

'So you believe that those two kids were kidnapped by somebody who wants to lay their hands on the diary,' he commented, sitting back more comfortably in the chair. The Duke sat back as well.

'Not all noble families are mentioned in the diary, even if probably all have something to hide,' he said. 'The ones implicated the most are Baskerville, Vessalius, Nightray and Barma, in no particular order. As you know, we keep a precarious power balance. This small book provides the means to destroy any of the four families and seriously hurt some others, implicated in the diary. It would be a powerful tool in the hands of anybody, yet a dangerous one to use.'

'You are lucky that my master came to you with it,' Kevin noted with some distaste. He didn't like this kind of power games and blackmails and he wished that the Baron had stayed away from them as well. However, it seemed to be too late for that.

'I am very flattered that Baron Sinclair came to me with this book,' the Duke corrected. 'Even if it means great danger, as you can see from today's events. The problematic part is that there are very few people, who would risk such a stunt and even fewer, who knew that the diary has been found,' he pointed out.

'And one of them is Jack Vessalius,' Kevin added, nodding his understanding. The Duke consented that Jack might have overheard something. 'I will see if I can get any hints from his behaviour, but what if you are wrong?'

'Of course, I cannot exclude the possibility that Elliot has been indeed the only intended target and that the kidnappers have something against the Earl of Nightray. In this case I would have felt obliged to help my dear friend out, even if Gilbert hadn't been taken as well,' the Duke said tonelessly. Kevin wondered if it was this kind of loyalty that the Baron has bought with the Rainsworth diary. He supposed it could be useful, if that was the case. 'However, kidnapping anybody from the Baskerville manor is not an easy feat and should the Nightray family be targeted, there was no reason to engage in such a dangerous game,' the Duke noted pointedly.

'They succeeded quite spectacularly,' Kevin pointed out. 'But I meant: what if it was not the Vessalius family that kidnapped Elliot and Gilbert?' he rephrased, only slightly stumbling over the names.

'I will repeat that for everybody, but since we are discussing this,' the Duke said and paused. 'Today's event was a perfect occasion, with so many strangers in the manor and the commotion that covered the sounds of a potential struggle. Each of the guests arrived with some sort of entourage, whether only the carriage driver or a guard or two and they were more or less free to walk around the manor grounds. I would be surprised if the kidnapper's family was not on the guest list.'

Kevin could not deny the truthfulness of that statement.

True to his word, the Duke repeated that statement some half an hour later, when Earl Nightray, Baron Sinclair and Jack Vessalius, who has just returned from the Vessalius mansion, joined them in another office.

'How did Vince take it?' Jack asked in a worried tone, ignoring the murderous glare that the Earl sent him. Duke Baskerville sighed.

'Badly I'm afraid. It seems to be the first time that he is separated from his brother and in such a violent manner as well,' he replied emotionlessly. In between the two meetings, he had gone to see if Lady Baskerville needed any help. 'Lacie is trying to calm him down, while Bernice is taking care of the rest of the children,' he added. It took Kevin a moment to realise that "Bernice" was Countess Nightray. He was watching, standing behind Baron's chair, how Jack bit his lower lip. Was he worried about the kids?

'I must admit that I am surprised you didn't stay with Oz and Ada, all things considered,' the Duke commented after a moment, looking at Jack. The man looked surprised at the suggestion, as though it hasn't crossed his mind.

'I want to help you figure this out,' he answered finally. 'It took me long enough to ensure that Oz and Ada are safe and inform Oscar and my father about everything that happened, now it's time to find those bastards,' he added forcefully. Kevin wondered how much of that time, Jack had really spent with his younger siblings and how much with the other two, discussing the situation.

'Your father is an obvious choice for the perpetrator of this horror,' the Earl snarled. Kevin thought that Jack didn't look quite insulted enough.

'If it is father's doing then he deserves to be punished for this horrendous deed, however, I see no gain for him in kidnapping Elliot and Gil,' Vessalius said, looking down at the table. Duke Baskerville glared at Earl Nightray, when the latter opened his mouth to reply and Jack looked up, glancing at the other three men seated at the table with him. Kevin could see that he was expecting an answer.

'I should hope that this is a simple kidnapping for ransom and we will soon get a letter demanding money in exchange for their lives,' the Duke said finally, for once sounding tired and worried, rather than emotionless and composed. So he does care about what happens to those kids, Kevin thought.

'That would exclude my father,' Jack pointed out with a hateful glare at the Earl. 'However, I think that it's a dangerous gamble just to get money. Could there be anybody who'd want to get revenge?' he added. Kevin had to wonder if he wanted to implicate his father. The first name that came to his mind as the answer to the question was "Vessalius".

'I will study the guest list carefully,' the Earl said after a long pause. 'There are not many families that would risk upsetting the political balance, not after the turmoil from-' he cut himself off. Quite needlessly, Kevin thought, not failing to notice that Jack suddenly looked more interested. He knew for sure about the diary. The question was: how far would he go to get it?


	7. Of this beautiful disgrace

**Ch. 7: Of this beautiful disgrace**

After the meeting was concluded, Jack excused himself to go to see how Lacie was doing with the kids. Mindful of the Duke's request, Kevin asked to go with him, under the pretence of checking up on Edward and Emily. Not that he expected the man to betray himself in any way, should he really be responsible for the disappearance of the precious children.

Jack didn't offer any protest and agreed, with a smile, to show Kevin the way, because the manor was a real maze and getting lost on the first or even fifth visit seemed more like a part of the program than anything else. That was what Jack said, not losing the smile. Faced with his unrelenting grin, Kevin had to wonder.

'Aren't you worried?' he asked as the door to the meeting room closed behind them. Jack's smile faltered.

'Of course I am worried,' he said. 'But the only thing I can really do is hope for the best and try to cheer up the kids, if they need it,' he added, grabbing a red cloak, alike those that the guards in the manor wore.

'Why do you have one of those?' Kevin asked, frowning. Jack glanced at the cloak and laughed.

'It allows me to move around without getting all that much of attention,' he said. 'Don't you just ignore the figures wearing red cloaks around here? Well I know that I'm not exactly wanted here and it's only Oswald's word that keeps some of those guards from ripping me to shreds. So I asked Lacie if I can get one of the cloaks and like that most of the guards ignore me,' he explained.

'I will pay closer attention now,' said an irritated, female voice behind them and both Kevin and Jack jumped in surprise. A pink-haired, young woman was glaring at Jack with eyes that were a shade darker than her hair.

'Hi there, Lottie,' Jack said with a sheepish grin, but she only glared and knocked on the door to the meeting room. 'I hope I'm not missing on anything important,' Jack muttered as the woman entered the room. 'And now Lottie will tell everybody about my little trick with the cloak, damn it.'

'That slip of a woman is a guard?' Kevin asked, unsure if Jack was joking or not.

'That slip of a woman is a vicious beast if you let her,' the Vessalius replied. 'I'm lucky that she all but worships Oswald,' he added. 'Now shall we be going on our way?'

'Right,' Kevin muttered. 'Since I will be staying here for a while, can you tell me something more about the household?' he asked, half of genuine curiosity, half to keep Jack talking while he thought. The kidnappers have probably used the guard's cloak, but would that make the others ignore them even if they carried an unconscious heir to the House? It seemed unlikely.

'You have to beware of the guards,' Jack started. 'If they think you're up to no good, or, god forbid, trying to hurt "Glen", as they call Oswald, in any way, they will have your head.'

Those kind of guards would not let it slide if somebody was trying to carry away important people, Kevin thought. He noticed that the guards were wearing their hoods down, so a foreign face, combined with a suspicious situation, would surely raise alarm. Not to mention that one would need to know that a red cloak gave the wearer such immunity. Kevin imagined that it was not a well-advertised fact. Possibly only Jack knew about it, but Jack has been seated at the table for the whole time, or at least until he left with Oz and Ada, which was probably long after the kids were abducted.

'I still haven't been let in on the secret of why the next Duke has to be adopted, but I can bet my head that it has something to do with the red eyes,' Jack was continuing next to him, but Kevin only paid minor attention to his words up until that moment. 'I don't exactly know what Lacie is doing for Oswald either, but it must be real important. And I know that Vince is meant to take over her functions when Gil becomes the next Duke.'

It was such a weird place, Kevin decided, unlike any other noble House. He had a feeling that he had barely grazed the surface of their secrets, with the red-eyes and weird succession, and he wondered if he would ever want to know more. He wondered if his master hadn't made a grave mistake by approaching the Duke Baskerville.

'However, once you get to know them, both Lacie and Oswald are quite nice people, unlike the stiff and dark Earl Nightray,' Jack babbled. Calling the Duke a nice person seemed to be quite a stretch in Kevin's mind. 'One would think that it should be the other way around, with Oswald guarding so many dark secrets. He was a bit more relaxed before he took the title, but not all that much, so I suppose the darkness doesn't affect him that much.'

'You knew them before?' Kevin asked, making Jack laugh shortly.

'I have been pining after Lacie for more than eight years now, ever since I finished school and saw her sitting next to Oswald on one of the parties,' he said with a smile that suggested he was recalling fond memories. 'I knew Oswald from school, of course, but have never seen Lacie there, so I was pretty surprised to find that she was his sister.'

'So you are-' Kevin trailed off, not sure how to ask the question.

'Alice's father?' Jack helped him out. 'I am not and I do not know who is. For her eyes I would have said Oswald, but the two of them would have never done something like that, I know it for sure,' he added. Kevin was shocked that he could even voice such an outrageous suggestion out loud. 'I tried asking, but she wouldn't tell me and when I was close enough to her to actually have a conversation she was almost nine months pregnant.'

Kevin wanted to ask why Jack wanted to be with a woman who had other man's children, but he wasn't given the chance, because they have arrived. Jack waved amicably at the guards standing next to the double door and opened it. Kevin followed him into a large chamber, which was obviously the children play chamber of the manor, if the multiple toys and books were any indication.

Everybody looked up as they entered, hopeful and then disappointed. Jack immediately went towards Lady Baskerville, who was sitting in a large rocking chair with a blond boy curled up on her lap.

'Kevin,' Edward exclaimed and the knight turned his steps towards where he was sitting, together with Leo Baskerville, not far from Lady Baskerville. 'Did they find them?'

'They were not in the manor anymore,' Kevin replied truthfully, watching how the hope, shining in the eyes of both boys, faded.

'We knew that,' Vincent said sullenly, glaring at Kevin with his mismatched eyes, before turning to Lady Baskerville, asking why he couldn't see Gil anymore. The question sounded like he was losing it and Kevin grew worried, but the woman just smiled sadly and said something about the lack of training.

'Vince was insisting the whole time that Gil was not in the manor anymore,' Edward said in a hushed voice, sounding a bit spooked out by that. 'He kept repeating that he should have been looking properly, or something like that.'

It sounded weird at best, but Kevin knew better than to press for details. He was positive that it had to do with the red eyes, but if the Duke was keeping secrets from Jack then Kevin didn't want to start the conversation. Even now he could see Jack listening carefully while trying to pretend that he was talking with Alice.

He looked up when the door opened and the pink-haired guard, Lottie, stepped in, accompanied by a tall, brown-haired man with a tattoo on his left cheek.

'The guest rooms have been prepared for you,' Lottie announced, looking at Kevin and Edward. 'The Baron asked if you can stay here,' she added as an explanation, before Edward had time to voice his surprise. 'Fang will lead you there.'

'Don't they look intimidating?' Jack asked Kevin, who couldn't deny the truth of that statement. The name "Fang" didn't help matters much either. 'But they will not touch you unless Oswald orders them to and I think he has other things on his head now,' the blond added with a laugh. How could he laugh at this?

'Jack,' Lady Baskerville scolded. 'Fang, please take Edward and Emily with you. I would like a word with Mr Regnard before he retires for the night,' she added, turning towards the servant and then urging the children to follow the man, telling them that the man would be their private bodyguard for as long as Kevin was charged with helping the Duke.

Kevin stared. How could she have known that?

'Jack, could you please go with Lottie and take the kids to their rooms?' she asked. The man looked vaguely disappointed, but complied, picking the blond boy up from her lap and asking Leo and Alice to follow. Countess Nightray also excused herself, saying that she would go to find her husband.

Kevin felt vaguely nervous when the door closed, leaving him alone with the red-eyed woman and his unease increased with every second of silence. Not to mention that the room full of toys looked somewhat creepy in the moonlight. He almost expected the dolls to start moving and talking, which was a ridiculous thought.

'Are you going to actually say something?' he asked finally, unable to stand the silence anymore. 'Eh, excuse me, my lady, I am a bit nervous,' he added despite the smile that stretched her lips.

'Please call me Lacie,' she said. 'Everybody does,' she added, before explaining the weird situation. 'I just wanted a moment to look into your soul. I know that Oswald charged you with the task of supervising Jack. I am sorry that I am unable to complete this task and you must be burdened with it.'

'How would you know that?' he asked, shocked.

'There is nothing that my brother can hide from me, just like there is nothing that I can hide from him, if either of us wants to know the truth,' she announced. Kevin thought that now might be a good time to run and forget he has ever stepped into the Baskerville manor. 'I'm sorry, I usually don't look into people's souls without asking first, but Oswald has asked me to check if you are trustable,' she added.

'If he was worried about that, why didn't he ask you to search Jack's soul?' he asked, unable to stop the question. 'You seem to be much better at it than me anyway.'

'Unfortunately, my eyes are clouded when it comes to Jack, due to the nature of the relationship between him and me,' she replied with a small, somewhat sad smile. Was she sad to be in love? Or was she sad to be unable to carry out her tasks? 'I will try to train you, if the situation doesn't resolve itself quickly,' she added.

'Why not train Vincent if he can already see his brother?' he asked, wondering if he would dare to ask what it even meant that he could see his brother. Lacie smiled and he realised that she understood what he really wanted to ask.

'The Duke of Baskerville, sometimes called Glen, is a person chosen to guard the Abyss,' she said. He blinked. What? 'Have you ever heard about the Abyss?' she asked and he nodded, because there were fairy tales about a dark place to where the souls went after death. 'It exists for real, but is kept secret from people, so that they don't try to use it. Centuries ago, people meddling with the Abyss caused horrible distortions and finally, one of the Glens decided that this had to end. He worked to erase Abyss from people's knowledge and since then is keeping it secret.'

'This is why the Duke of Baskerville has to find the heir of the title, rather than produce one,' she added offhandedly. 'Gilbert, as the chosen one of the Abyss, can be traced through it by a person who fulfils two conditions.'

'I suppose red eyes are one of them,' Kevin muttered.

'Indeed,' Lacie agreed easily. 'The second is that they have to be related by blood to the chosen one. However, this skill needs to be trained or else it is limited to small physical distances when the person is fully focused. Now there is neither time nor place to teach Vincent those things.'

'Why are you telling me all this?' he asked finally. He had no desire to make enemies out of the powerful family and he definitely did not want to betray the trust that Baron Sinclair has put into him, however, did the Baskervilles know that? Were they going to kill him once this mess was over? He hoped they didn't expect him to go down without a fight.

'Because I trust you,' she replied seriously. 'I love Jack with all my heart, but I have pledged my allegiance to Glen Baskerville and if Jack has taken part in threatening the future Glen then there is no forgiveness for him,' she added in a cold and firm tone.

Kevin wondered if all the people in that manor were so devoted to the Duke.


	8. Please hold me now

**Ch. 8: Please hold me now**

Elliot tried to blink away the darkness, before remembering that there was no real light in the cell. He and Gilbert were being held hostage in the torture dungeons of some noble family. It was the middle of the night and it seemed that he had finally managed to fall asleep, instead of freezing in momentary panic whenever he heard footsteps or screams.

The day had been strenuous. Already the abduction was bad. The questioning session made the whole experience hellish and when the men returned to cut a lock of Gilbert's hair and take away the bloodied cravat, they have made sure to scare them much more than the situation called for. He shivered at the memories of fear and helplessness, when he had thought that the men returned to cause some serious damage. Gilbert's screaming still echoed in his ears when he thought about it, so he forced those memories out of his mind.

The night birds were singing somewhere near and there was nobody walking in the corridor or screaming as they were being tortured. Elliot wondered what was it that woke him up, until he heard a muffled cry and Gilbert trashed next to him, hitting him in the stomach. Even though the blow was not strong, it fell exactly on the bruise left by the man earlier and Elliot gasped in pain.

'Gilbert?' he asked, but the boy just continued trashing, whimpering. Blindly, he reached out until his hand rested on Gilbert's trembling shoulder. 'Wake up, Gil,' he called louder and the boy sat up with a gasp, their foreheads colliding.

'Ouch,' Elliot moaned as stars danced in front of his eyes. 'I'll never do that again, Gil,' he added, laughing when the other boy started apologising, sounding close to tears. 'I'm joking, Gil, it's alright. At least I think it is. Are you alright? Were you having a nightmare?' he asked, sitting up against the cold wall and massaging his forehead.

His eyes got marginally used to the darkness and, in the meagre light coming through the pathetic excuse for a window, Elliot could vaguely see Gilbert's silhouette. The younger boy was also sitting up, massaging his forehead. Elliot could hear him trying to breathe deep, shaky breaths, probably to calm down.

'We're really in a cell,' Gilbert muttered eventually, sounding disappointed. Elliot could see his hand falling from his forehead to his knee. 'We really got kidnapped,' he added, his voice only slightly wavering.

'Yeah, we really got kidnapped,' Elliot confirmed, wishing that he had better news to deliver. 'Is that what you were dreaming about?' he asked, hoping that it was a safe question to ask. He thought he could see Gilbert shake his head.

'Not really,' the boy mumbled. 'I was dreaming about before.'

'Before you came to live at the manor?' Elliot asked, although he was pretty sure of the answer he would get. Gilbert nodded. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

'Won't you hate me if you know the truth?' Gilbert asked back, surprising Elliot with the question. Out of all the worries he could imagine Gilbert having, this was not one of them.

'Hate you?' he repeated, letting his surprise ring clear in his tone. 'I don't think you could ever do anything that would make me hate you Gil,' he assured the boy.

A while of silence followed his statement and then Gilbert clumsily, probably because he could also barely see anything, moved to sit next to Elliot and snuggled close. Automatically, Elliot wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

'I only ever told it all to the Duke,' he mumbled unclearly, because his face was hidden in Elliot's clothes. Elliot assured him that it was alright if he didn't want to talk about it, that he just wanted to help if talking would dispel the nightmare. 'It's this place that brings the nightmare,' Gilbert replied, pulling away slightly so that he could speak properly.

'I still can't understand why you would have been in a prison of any kind,' Elliot told him. After all, Gilbert had been five years old when he came to live in the manor. What could he have possibly done to have been put in prison?

'I got caught stealing food,' the younger boy said and cowered when Elliot gasped in surprise. 'Vince and I were hungry and there was no other way to get anything,' he added quickly, as though excusing himself.

'Where were your parents?' Elliot asked. He could guess that he wasn't going to like the answer, but he couldn't help asking.

'I don't know. I don't remember them at all, because they sold us shortly after Vince was born,' Gilbert replied. Elliot couldn't help asking why, even though he didn't expect the boy to know. 'The person who owned us said that it was because of Vince's eye. Everything always happened because of that eye.'

'But,' Elliot couldn't find words to say. He felt like there was something he should say, but he couldn't figure out what it could be. Gilbert sniffed and he hugged the boy closer, to let him know that he didn't hate him.

'We ran away, because I felt like I had to be somewhere else,' Gilbert continued after a while of silence. 'And because the people were not treating us well, but it might have been a mistake, because it was even harder to live in the streets. That is why I tried to steal food, but I got caught by the lady whose bread I was taking. She called an officer and insisted that I get punished,' Gilbert paused and swallowed. 'Maybe the officer would have let me go, but then Vince butted in and they saw his eye and the woman panicked. She said that it was the devil's eye.'

'And you got sent to prison?' Elliot asked incredulously. Gilbert nodded against his chest, but didn't say anything. A four-year-old and a five-year-old sent to prison for trying to steal bread? Something didn't add up in that story, but Elliot didn't doubt the truthfulness of Gilbert's words. 'How did you meet the Duke then?'

'Well, we got out of prison after some time and we were back on the streets, so eventually I had to try and steal some food again, no?' Gilbert asked back. 'So I tried and I got caught again, this time by a severe looking man with violet eyes. They are so scary, Duke's eyes,' he added and Elliot had to laugh.

'This must have been the worst introduction ever,' he noted and Gilbert giggled quietly. 'So what did the Duke do?'

'It was kind of freaky, but he just looked at me. He looked and looked and I was so scared that I couldn't move, even though I should have ran. I thought he would call an officer and we would be back in prison and, although there was food there, it wouldn't be nice. Then the Duke looked at Vince, who was always close by me, and said that he was taking us with him, which was possibly even scarier than the prison.'

This time, Elliot didn't laugh, well aware of the horrors that could have awaited the two brothers, should they have been picked up by somebody else. Instead he asked if they haven't tried running then, but Gilbert told him that they never had the time. Fang, whose name Gilbert found out later, grabbed him before he could even think about running and Vince wouldn't have run alone.

'In the end, Vince's red eye was good for something,' Gilbert concluded the story. Elliot wondered if it was pure luck or fate that had guided Gilbert to try and steal from that particular person. From talking with his father, he was under the impression that the Duke Baskerville didn't just choose a random person to be his successor, so what if Gilbert hadn't been there in that particular moment? Or what if he had succeeded in stealing the food and ran away?

'Well, I learned a new thing about you after all,' he said lightly, feeling how Gilbert moved to look at him. He looked down at the black-haired silhouette. 'That you are not so good at stealing,' he clarified, laughing when Gilbert punched him lightly after a moment of surprise.

'I was five,' he protested. 'Besides, being good at stealing is nothing to be proud of,' he added indignantly.

'Of course it's not,' Elliot agreed. 'But later remind me to teach you how to hide Leo's books so that he doesn't notice and spends half a day looking for them,' he added with a mischievous smile. When the boy didn't reply, he wished he could see his expression. 'If you want that is.'

'Do you think that we will get out of here?' Gilbert asked after a while. So that was what was bothering him, Elliot thought.

'I cannot imagine the Duke stopping before you are safely back in the manor,' he replied truthfully. 'I cannot imagine my father giving up on me either, since he kind of needs the heir,' he added with a smile. 'Try to sleep a bit more now. We need all the strength we can get, because we have to wait for them to come and get us.'

'Thanks Elliot,' Gilbert mumbled, snuggling closer and resting his head against Elliot's chest.

'Any time, Gil, any time,' he muttered back, resting his head against the wall and closing his eyes. Find us soon, he thought. Find us before those guys decide to hurt us seriously, he added, because he knew that, for all the fright they have been given so far, it was nothing compared to what those men could do to them.

})i({

Morning brought bad news. Lottie, the pink-haired slip of a woman that was, according to Jack, a vicious beast, came to pick Kevin up from his bedroom. The bedroom was situated next to those of the kids and the Baron, but they weren't with Lottie and the woman didn't stop to pick them up either.

'Is there a problem?' he asked finally, having noticed how tense she was and how rigid were her steps, when the previous night she has been the personification of grace. She glared at him briefly and he thought she would ignore his question, but then she huffed and spoke.

'Glen has received a message saying: "You have something I want, I have something you want". It was accompanied by a lock of black, wavy hair and a ripped piece of a bloodied, white, silk cravat,' she said. Kevin winced, because it was such a cliché and yet efficient as a way of saying that the sender had hostages. The cravat might have or might have not belonged to Elliot Nightray who might have or might have not been seriously hurt, but the threat was obvious.

'No signature,' he guessed.

'Of course,' she replied. 'I don't think anybody is stupid enough to focus the fury of Duke Baskerville on themselves, however, that is a serious clue that whoever has kidnapped Gilbert and the young master Elliot is after the item your master have found,' she added.

'But it provides no clue as to who it might have been,' he pointed out and he could literally hear her grit her teeth.

'You don't need to remind me of the helpless situation we are in,' she ground out. 'The only thing we have is the nightmare that Vincent had, because Lacie believes he might have dreamt about what has really happened to Gilbert,' she added after a deep breath.

Vincent's dream ended up worrying everybody even more, because he had dreamt about being hurt, while two people, cloaked in red with hoods hiding their faces, held Elliot, who was screaming something about knowing nothing. Having told them that much, the boy turned into a complete emotional mess. Lacie left with him, so that they could talk.

Duke Baskerville was furious that the kidnappers dared to mock him by wearing red, although Kevin supposed it was just a distraction from worry. Earl Nightray seemed both relieved that his son was alive and guilty for feeling relieved when Gilbert might have been seriously hurt. It suddenly didn't seem unlikely that the blood on the silk cravat hasn't been Elliot's but Gilbert's. The last occupant of the room, Jack looked stricken and pale, standing in the corner of the room as though he didn't wish to be seen.

The persistent thought that Jack had a red cloak didn't leave Kevin's mind and he wondered if that was his supposed intuition and he should tell that to the Duke, or should he disregard it. After all, Jack had explained the cloak the previous day.


	9. Be careful, don't drown

**Ch. 9: Be careful, don't drown**

The next time Elliot woke up, it was because the door to their cell opened. Judging by the amount of light, it wasn't night anymore and he could clearly see the figure cloaked in red, depositing a tray of food on the floor, without as much as a glance at the two of them.

Not having eaten since Leo's birthday lunch, they quickly decided that their captors had no interest in poisoning them and ate. It wasn't much and it certainly wasn't the best food that Elliot has ever eaten but the bread was fresh and the water was clean. The cheese was even one of the ones he quite liked and so did Gilbert, it seemed. It was far from prison-food mentioned in any book, but Elliot wished that the special treatment included a blanket.

He shivered, leaning against the wall again, once he had finished eating. The stone walls sure were cold. He could feel the chill seeping into his body through the thin jacket and the shirt he was wearing since the previous day. It didn't help that the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Since the morning, the sky has been overcast, or so he assumed from the light filtering through into their cell.

Gilbert took the tray and put it closer to the door, before returning to sit next to Elliot on the mat, shivering. He snuggled closer to Elliot, who wrapped an arm around his shoulders in the same gesture as the previous night. Maybe they could keep marginally warmer if they stayed close.

'Do you think they will be back?' Gilbert asked after a moment of silence. Elliot sighed.

'I have no idea,' he replied truthfully. 'I kind of hope they don't, although I wouldn't mind to get more food,' he added with a laugh. Gilbert laughed quietly as well, which was a good sign in Elliot's opinion. They gained nothing by sitting and worrying and he was still pretty sure that their captors wouldn't hurt them too badly.

'Can you tell me some more funny stories?' the younger boy asked after another moment of silence. Elliot tried to think of something. 'I used to make up stories when Vince woke up after a nightmare, but if I can have real ones it will be much easier.'

'Does Vince have a lot of nightmares?' Elliot asked. Gilbert nodded against his chest and said that sometimes, Vincent even dreamt about things that have happened to them, usually scary things.

'For example,' he said. 'After the Duke picked us up from the street, Vince would dream about his eyes, even though he mostly stared at me not at him. Also, when Alice's cat bit me, Vince dreamt about it as though he was me,' he added. It sounded vaguely disturbing, but Elliot wasn't going to say that.

'That's right, Leo told me that you don't like cats,' he said instead. Leo's actual words had in fact been "is absolutely terrified of cats".

'Cats don't like me,' Gilbert replied sullenly, pouting when Elliot laughed. 'Especially Alice's Cheshire, he hates me,' he added with a small shiver.

'I think Cheshire only likes Alice,' Elliot told him in a light tone. 'I never had problems with cats, but this one seems particularly vicious,' he added and told Gilbert a story about when he once got lost in the manor and entered Alice's room by mistake. Cheshire had chased him for at least fifteen minutes. It had the younger boy laughing and for a moment Elliot forgot where exactly they were.

He was forcefully reminded about their situation when a scream echoed somewhere in another cell. Was somebody really tortured there or was it just to scare them? He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. The screaming continued for a couple of minutes and the only thing he could do was to squeeze his eyes shut and hold on to Gilbert, who was hugging him back just as fiercely.

'You know,' Gilbert whispered, long after the scream faded. 'Vince will dream about it if something really scary happens, so maybe we can try and,' he paused and drew in a shaky breath. Elliot shook his head, even though Gilbert wasn't looking at him. 'Next time they come, you can try to get the hoods off some of them and it will surely turn scary. If I see who they are, Vince will see it as well.'

'I don't think I can overpower them,' he replied, rather than addressing all the other flaws of Gilbert's idea. How angry would their captors get? They wanted them alive, that much was clear, but there was a large difference between alive and well and Elliot didn't really feel like exploring it.

Outside it started raining.

})i({

Sunny weather from the previous day was gone without a trace. As rain pattered against the window rhythmically, Kevin was slowly realising that spending time with Jack was a very boring task.

After the morning revelations, Lacie had charged herself with trying to find more information from Vincent's dream. Kevin wasn't sure how she was going to do that, but she had winked at him when she had said those words. Earl Nightray had to return to his mansion to take care of some vague business that he and the Duke seemed to understand without mentioning. Baron Sinclair had gone back to his place as well, accompanied by a red-cloaked guard with a hood pulled over their head. He had left the kids in the Baskerville manor, after the Duke had offered to protect them in the same way as Leo, Alice and Vincent would be protected. Himself, the Duke had disappeared after telling Kevin and Jack to go through the guest list and fish out the families that had manors with dungeons.

'You should add "Vessalius" to that list,' Jack said, snapping Kevin out of his thoughts. He glanced at the other man and then at the list he was making. There was one other name on it so far.

'I thought you vouched for the Vessalius family,' Kevin muttered without enthusiasm, jotting down the name anyway. Jack looked away with a disgruntled expression and Kevin noticed that he seemed tired, as though he hadn't slept the previous night.

'My vouch is worth nothing to Oswald,' he said, sounding hurt by the doubt of the other man. 'You don't think that I don't know he's had me followed, do you?' he asked. 'He's had you on my case also and, although I'm grateful that it's not Lottie or Doug, I'm a bit puzzled by that.'

'What?' Kevin gasped, flinching in his chair. Mentally, he slapped himself for this reaction because it was as good as admitting that Jack was right. Where was his poker face when he needed it? Probably left me when I entered this weird world, he thought bitterly, clearing his throat as Jack laughed humourlessly.

'Don't worry Kevin, I won't hold it against you,' he said in a bright tone that grated Kevin's nerves. 'I would like that we remain friends, even when you go to report everything that I have said to Oswald. You can tell him that as well.'

'I'm-' Kevin started, but didn't get to finish because, as Jack moved in his chair, something gleamed on his chest and Kevin's attention was distracted. He looked at the decorative buttons of Jack's coat. Each button had a pair of wings, traced in silver on a red background. He vaguely remembered that Jack wore that coat the previous day as well and the buttons gleamed just like that in the sunlight. However, the previous day, Kevin just looked away, unsure of how to behave, sitting at the table with noble ladies and that smiling man. This time, he found himself interested by the design.

'Do you like my coat?' Jack asked, his smile growing even brighter. How could he smile so much when two kids were missing? 'Lacie offered it to me a year ago and I wear it as much as possible, because it's so beautiful. Needless to say that my father and Oscar are not happy about the buttons,' he added. Kevin stared at him, speechless. 'You know, Vessalius feathers on Baskerville red,' he clarified.

'It's not that,' Kevin muttered. 'How can you possibly smile like that in such a situation?'

'Ah, well,' Jack paused, his smile faltering. 'I suppose I could say that I don't know how to do anything else. Besides, as long as I am with Lacie, nothing else matters,' he added, the smile back with full force.

Weirdo, screamed a voice in Kevin's head. For at least the fifth time that day, he wished that his master had never found that damned diary. Or that he had destroyed the thing on the spot, rather than trying to get more power.

'Although honestly,' Jack sighed, smile gone. 'This situation is horrible. I hope that nothing bad has happened to Gil and Elliot. They are both cute kids, even if that despicable Earl has already taught his son to hate me,' he added and there was anger in his voice, poorly masked. Kevin didn't know what to say, but Jack continued after a pause. 'I cannot understand what could be so precious as to kidnap two, innocent kids.'

Alarm bells rang in Kevin's head and he forced himself to keep a neutral expression, especially when the other man turned to him and asked if Kevin knew what it could be.

'The Duke never told me anything,' he lied, knowing that it wasn't convincing. Something flashed in Jack's eyes, before the man turned away again and asked if Kevin thought that the Duke would give it up. Why the hell was that man asking him such a question? What was Kevin supposed to answer? More importantly: would the Duke exchange an item that could bring him down for the life of his heir?

'Never mind that,' Jack muttered. 'It's not like the kidnappers really demanded anything yet and it will be difficult to give them whatever, without knowing who they are or how to meet them at least,' he added. 'Let's go back to our list, we only have two names for now?' he sighed. 'Maybe I should seriously talk with my father.'

'Do you think it could have been your father, acting without your knowledge?' Kevin asked, surprised at the words. Jack flashed him a wry grin.

'Are you asking as the Duke's investigator or as my friend?' he asked back and laughed. 'It doesn't matter, the answer is still the same: yes. My father hates the Baskerville family with passion and blames them for the fact that Vessalius family never managed to attain higher noble status. He would gladly make Oswald suffer, although I don't see how he could have gone through the security in the manor and why now particularly.'

Alarm bells were ringing again in Kevin's head. Why was Jack telling him all this? Going even as far as suspecting his own father, when he should be protecting the honour of the family, seemed wrong. The careless way with which he uttered those words disturbed something that Kevin couldn't quite name. He wanted out of that situation, out of the freaky manor and, most importantly, away from the man that made his skin crawl. Each smile was like a shred of broken glass and each word was like a stab of a needle. How could the Duke even allow something this annoying into the manor?

He took a deep breath, aware that Jack was looking at him with a sly smile.

'It's a lot to take when you get into those circles,' the man said and for once his words rang completely true in Kevin's ears. He wanted to point out that Jack came here willingly, but the door opening stopped him. Both he and Jack looked in that direction.

'A letter has come, asking you to go back to the Vessalius mansion,' Lottie said, standing in the doorway, glaring at Jack. 'If you ask my opinion, you don't have to bother coming back,' she added hatefully. Jack smiled sadly.

'They truly love me here, don't you think?' he asked Kevin, getting up with a sigh. 'Well, I'll see you later tonight I guess,' he added, not waiting for a reply to his question. Not that Kevin had anything to say. He simply watched as Jack left the room. Lottie glared after him for a long moment. Afterwards, she moved out of the way wordlessly.

'Have you had enough observation time?' the Duke asked, entering the room. Lottie followed him in and closed the door. For some reason, the sound of the door closing sounded foreboding. Kevin shook his head to clear the ridiculous thoughts away.

'Not enough to figure out what exactly Jack is hiding,' he said with a sigh. 'However, I'm pretty sure that he knows about the diary. He even thinks that his father might have made a move, without telling him, to retrieve it. Or at least that is what he claims and it feels somehow truthful.'

'I see,' the Duke said quietly. 'Lottie, follow Jack and tell me if he really went to the mansion. Don't take any risks with the Vessalius guards though,' he said, turning to the pink-haired woman. She bowed and moved to leave the room. However, before she had the time to open the door, three teenagers burst in: Leo and Edward, followed by a blond that Kevin recognised, with some surprise, to be Oz Vessalius. What was that kid doing here? All three of them looked flustered, as though they had ran across the manor to get to this room. There was also a sense of urgency about them that told Kevin they were bringing important news. The Duke asked Kevin's unspoken question out loud.

'I think I know where Elliot and Gilbert are,' Oz proclaimed, creating a moment of stunned silence. Strangely enough, Kevin believed him immediately.


	10. One small moment of clarity

**Ch. 10: One small moment of clarity**

Without the sun, they had no way to judge the passing time, even approximately. The day stretched mercilessly, with nothing to occupy their attention other than their conversations and the pattering of the rain outside. Was it hours since the food had been brought? Was the day almost over? It seemed to get darker, but it could have been an impression.

Every once in a while, somebody would pass on the other side of the wooden door and they would freeze momentarily, holding their breaths, waiting. Every time, the footsteps faded in the distance and they breathed again. At least nobody screamed anymore and Elliot refused to even consider that it could have been because they were dead.

Gilbert's insane idea wouldn't leave his head and, when Gilbert fell asleep against him at some point, he called up all the reasons as to why he shouldn't even think about it. First of all, his head still felt a bit sore from the time when he had been thrown into the cell the previous day. Having his head slammed into the wall afterwards or smashing his forehead against Gilbert's at night didn't help the slightest. The dizzy spells seemed to have passed, but he wasn't sure if he would even be able to stand up properly, since he hasn't tried it yet.

If that wasn't enough then surely the fear of hitting his head yet again should be more than enough to dispel the idea from his head. After all, if he tried to struggle, their captors would surely try to stop him and, in doing so, they would very likely hit him. He knew that, having suffered a concussion, he should avoid hitting his head again.

Then why was he still thinking about it? The answer was as simple as it was embarrassing.

It irked him to no end that the only thing he could do, realistically speaking, was to obey to the wishes of their captors, hoping that neither Gilbert nor he would get hurt before somebody can get them out. He should be able to do something more, shouldn't he? If not getting them out of the situation then at least somehow actively protecting the person who would, one day, become his lord.

However, no matter how desperate, they couldn't place all their hopes in a plan that was so utterly unreliable. From what Gilbert had told him, there was no telling when Vincent would dream about their captivity. Not to mention that the people that pushed them around could be perfect strangers. Even if they managed to figure out who held them and even if Vincent dreamt about it immediately, there was still too much time until anybody could come to save them. Too many things could happen in that time and Elliot knew that he would have absolutely no control over the situation.

Forget alive but beaten up: Elliot knew that their captors really only needed one hostage to get Duke Baskerville's cooperation. He shivered involuntarily as that thought crossed his mind. Gilbert mumbled something unclearly in his sleep.

Really, why was he still considering that idea? Even Gilbert had admitted that it was a stupid thing to say and that he had said it without thinking. Taking a deep breath, Elliot forced the thoughts out of his head, deciding to rather focus on whatever he would talk about with Gilbert, when the latter would wake up.

They have already exchanged countless little stories about their lives and Elliot had found out more about Gilbert than he had over the five years he had known him. Admittedly, they had rarely talked seriously in the manor. Even if they had wanted to, which Elliot supposed was not the case, it would have been impossible with Vincent and Alice around.

He didn't have much time to wonder, because Gilbert whimpered and, not waiting for the nightmare to evolve, Elliot shook him awake gently. He could always talk about school, he thought, smiling at the younger boy.

'Um, sorry,' Gilbert mumbled, looking away, rubbing his eyes. Elliot told him that it was alright and asked if he wanted to talk about it. 'Not really,' the boy replied, before snuggling closer again.

'Oi, don't get too comfortable,' Elliot joked, but Gilbert only giggled and didn't move. 'I wonder what time it is.'

'Past lunch time for sure,' Gilbert grumbled, making Elliot smile. It was amazing how easy it was to smile and laugh and pretend that they were alright. He wondered if it was a normal reaction. If Oz was there, he would probably be doing the same, because Oz believed that positive attitude could change the world.

He stopped his thoughts with a wince.

'Are you still thinking about my stupid idea?' Gilbert asked, sitting straight, a bit away from Elliot. He shivered slightly, probably from the cold. Now that Gilbert had moved away, Elliot could also feel cold where the other boy was previously. He almost laughed at how awkward he would have felt to think something like that just three days earlier.

'Not anymore, no,' he said with a sigh, shaking his head. 'However, I wish there was something we could do, other than sitting here and waiting.'

Gilbert didn't reply. They had talked about it already. They sat in silence for a moment, before Elliot opened his mouth and closed it immediately, hearing footsteps. His heart skipped a beat when the key screeched in the lock. In a flash, Gilbert was next to him and he hugged him protectively, wishing that there was anything more he could do.

The door opened with a creak and a figure in a red-cloak entered. It looked around wordlessly and then picked up the empty tray from the floor. How long has it been since that tray was emptied? The figure disappeared, closing the door and Elliot dared to breathe a sigh of relief. Next to him, Gilbert relaxed minutely, only to jump when the door opened again. This time, there was no mistaking of the intent of their captors.

Four figures entered the room swiftly and the fifth stood in the doorway, on the odd chance that they tried to run probably. Without any preamble and despite their protests, Gilbert was dragged out of Elliot's arms by one of the cloaked men. Elliot assumed they were men at least. While the one who grabbed Gilbert held his arms over his head, another wrapped a piece of black tissue over Gilbert's terrified eyes.

What the hell? Gilbert's words about Vincent came back to Elliot and he wondered if there was any possibility that their captors knew about it. Could they have overheard? Have they been listening to them the whole time? They surely couldn't have figured something like that out on their own.

'Long time no see, wouldn't you say?' asked the same man who had questioned him the previous day. Elliot gritted his teeth and pushed himself up against the wall. The man waved his hand and two of the others produced torches out of somewhere and lit them up, providing a bit more light.

'Back to the silent treatment, aren't we?' the man continued with a somewhat disappointed tone. Elliot felt nauseous as he wondered if the man was going to question them about something again. 'You're lucky that I don't need to you talk this time,' he added and Elliot almost breathed out in relief.

Rustling of the cloaks alerted him to the fact that the man standing in the doorway let through another one, who pulled the hood deeper over his head and stood in the farthest corner. Even without seeing the man, Elliot knew that it was the same one that has been present for their questioning. Was he their leader?

Gilbert's idea flitted across his mind and he forced himself to remember all the reasons as to why it was a bad idea. Not to mention that it could hardly work, now that Gilbert was blindfolded.

'Are you this comfortable that you're not paying attention?' asked the man threateningly. As though it was a cue, the man holding Gilbert kicked the boy in the back of his knee, provoking a shout of pain and surprise and then a whimper when Gilbert stumbled and the man pulled on his arms to keep him upright.

Feeling helpless and furious, Elliot glared at both men, wishing that looks could kill. The one talking to him laughed.

'That is better,' he said. 'Remember that your mistakes will be punished. The game is going to be simple this time again: I talk, you write,' he added. A piece of parchment and an old fashioned quill were provided, along with a support on which Elliot could put the parchment. 'Now sit,' the man ordered and, seeing no other option, he complied.

Somebody brought ink and Elliot dipped the quill inside. He wondered if there was a reason for using parchment and quill, but chased the question away as irrelevant. It was just a way for distracting himself from the fact that there he was: Elliot Nightray, son and heir of the proud Earl Nightray, listening to every wish of some despicable scumbag. It made his blood boil in fury, but he only needed to glance at Gilbert to know that he had to calm down and do as the cloaked men said. He promised himself silently that he was somehow going to make them pay eventually.

'Very well, my dear boy,' the man said.

'Would you like me to write that down?' he growled before he was able to stop himself. Even before the words left his mouth he knew that it was a mistake. The man in front of him stiffened and Elliot wanted to close his eyes to not see what would come, but he was not a coward. He could therefore see the foot that shot out and connected viciously with his side. He tried to bite back the shout of pain, but he was unable to prevent himself from losing balance.

The support, parchment and ink went tumbling down. The ink spilled everywhere, ruining the parchment, but Elliot couldn't care less. The sudden action of the man made the figure in the corner move abruptly and again Elliot saw something gleam under the cloak. This time, in the flickering light of the torch, he recognised the object: the outline of two silver wings on the background of a red circle.

He got up and crossed the cell, before really realising what he was doing. His mind blank, except for the identity of the man, he barely felt the pain from the kick. Everybody seemed to be beyond shocked that he had dared to move, because he made it to the figure and only when he reached out to remove the hood did somebody grab him from behind. However, the damage was done: the man pulled back and the hood fell from his head, revealing blond, messy hair and bright green eyes, now narrowed in anger.

He should have expected that, he knew. It was probably his father's first suspect. He even considered the possibility. Yet, faced with the fact, he was shocked speechless. He barely even noticed the man behind him, twisting his arm behind his back to control him, in case he tried something funny.

The man in front of him raised his chin a bit, as though challenging Elliot to speak, but there was nothing Elliot could say. He would like to ask why, but the answer was obvious. He could ask how, but it didn't really matter.

'So it was the Vessalius family after all,' he whispered finally. Behind him, Gilbert gasped and he remembered that the boy couldn't see anything. Of course: Jack would have known about Vincent.

Jack winced momentarily, then his face smoothed and a mocking smirk twisted the corners of his mouth. The real man behind the smiling mask, Elliot thought.

'Seeing me here, you brought upon your own death, Elliot Nightray,' Jack said in a cold and composed tone. 'Saying it out loud, you sealed Gilbert's fate as well,' he added. Shit, Elliot thought. 'It seems that my father will have to find another way of getting a hold of that diary.'

Something gleamed in the torchlight: Jack was holding a gun.


	11. They're coming out to find you

**Ch. 11: They're coming out to find you**

'You what?' the Duke asked, grabbing Oz's shoulders. Kevin could hear both doubt and hope in his voice. The boy looked shaken to see the noble so distraught, but he swallowed and replied.

'I said that I think I know where Gilbert and Elliot are being kept,' he repeated, sounding more nervous than the first time. 'I know I shouldn't be helping you, but Elliot is my friend and this is just, just,' he paused. He looked to be close to tears and Kevin felt somewhat sorry for him. He could guess what the boy would tell them.

'Do you mean to tell me that it was the Vessalius family that had kidnapped them?' the Duke asked, letting go of the boy, visibly more composed. 'Lottie,' he called to the woman who still hadn't left to follow Jack. 'Gather everyone,' he ordered her and turned back to Oz, as Lottie left the room with a rushed bow. 'Now tell me everything.'

Oz looked away. Leo put a hand on his shoulder and whispered something about doing the right thing. Oz nodded and looked back at the Duke, drawing a deep breath.

'Last night,' he started hesitantly. 'I heard servants talking about new prisoners, so today I sneaked out of the manor and to the prison tower. I thought they might have been thieves that were caught or something like that but then, when I was walking around, trying to figure out where they were, I heard Elliot and Gilbert talking,' he paused and took a deep breath. 'I came here right after.'

'Betraying your father,' the Duke said harshly. Oz looked at him, shocked, as though it never crossed his mind to do anything else. 'Is he telling the truth, Kevin?' the Duke asked, not looking at him and Kevin realised that he suspected a trap. Could Duke Vessalius aim to remove all guards from the manor, so that he could send in his people to search for the diary? Oz's eyes widened when he heard the question.

'He seems to be,' he said uncertainly. It hasn't crossed his mind that the boy might be lying, but was it his instinct or his hope?

'Uncle,' Leo exclaimed, outraged at the suggestion. However, one glare of the Duke's violet eyes shut him up before he could continue. Kevin noticed that he didn't take his hand from Oz's shoulder, however, in a silent show of support. Behind them, the door opened and a couple of guards and Lacie filed into the room silently. Oz looked more and more nervous.

'So tell me, boy,' the Duke said in an emotionless tone. 'Why should I believe that it is not a part of the Vessalius game that you came here?'

'Because it's not,' Oz said immediately and then blushed. It was not the most eloquent argument he could have come up with. 'I know it's suspicious and I have no proof for my words, but please, you have to believe me. I don't want anything bad to happen to Elliot or Gil,' he pleaded, sounding genuinely upset.

One of the guards brought forth a large piece of paper and a pen. He put it on the nearby table. The Duke motioned at Oz to take it and told him to draw where the prison tower was, compared to the manor. As the boy complied, they all gathered closer to the table.

'It's far enough so that the screams don't reach the manor,' Oz said while drawing, lines a bit shaky, because his hand was trembling. 'It's directly attached to the stables though, which is probably how the servants found out about new prisoners,' he added, drawing a rectangle for the stables. 'The only real entrance is through the stables as well and there are guards at the doors.'

'The road there passes by the manor,' Lottie noted, pointing at the line drawn by Oz.

'On the other side of the tower, there is a forest,' Oz replied, sounding a bit more self-assured, drawing lines on the paper, marking the forest. 'There are patrols in there, but at this time of the year it's easy to hide. There's also an entrance to the stables that is not visible from the mansion,' he added, drawing a thicker line on one wall of the rectangle.

'Let's give you the benefit of doubt, boy,' the Duke said. 'How many guards are there in the tower?' Oz gulped.

'I've never been inside,' he admitted. Kevin thought that, if it had been Vessalius' elaborate plan, then Oz would have a better answer to that question.

'I see. Lottie, Kevin, take as many people as you judge reasonable and go there,' the Duke said. Why me? Kevin wondered, but the Duke was already turning back to Oz. 'You will of course stay here, guarded. If your father's people will come to the manor while Lottie and Kevin are away,' he trailed of, the threat obvious from his statement. Oz nodded.

'Please don't hurt Oscar and Ada,' he said quietly. Kevin blinked. They weren't going to murder the family, were they? He certainly didn't want to take part in a bloodbath.

'You don't plead for Jack's life?' the Duke asked coldly, sounding mildly surprised although, in Kevin's head, it was for all the wrong reasons. Oz looked away.

'Jack was in the prison tower yesterday,' he said so quietly that Kevin could barely hear the words. 'That's why I got curious, because Jack doesn't normally bother with prisoners,' he added. The Duke glared at his sister, who looked down in either shame or sadness, Kevin couldn't be sure. The heavy silence stretched between them as the news sank in.

'That-' Lottie started.

'This will be a rescue mission purely,' the Duke spoke in a tone that didn't allow any arguments. 'Do not make detours to the mansion.'

'Thank you,' Oz said, bowing his head slightly.

'Yes my lord,' Lottie replied with a deep bow in the same time. She turned to Kevin and a somewhat maniacal grin lit up her face. 'Let's go for a trip Kevin,' she exclaimed, sounding gleeful. Both Kevin and Oz shuddered at her tone. With a flourish, she grabbed the map drawn by Oz and rolled it up expertly. Lacie grabbed Kevin's arm as he went to follow the pink-haired woman, who called out four more names as she went.

'If you hear me calling, come back to the manor immediately,' she said in a whisper that only Kevin and her brother could hear. The Duke nodded his agreement. Looking into her pained, wine-red eyes, Kevin forgot to ask her how she would even be able to call him. Lottie called his name and he followed her out of the room, listening to her instructions.

Somebody ran ahead and the horses were almost ready for them by the time they arrived at the entrance of the manor. Lottie unrolled the map and pointed out the direction from which they would be arriving and the detour they would have to make to not pass too close to the Vessalius mansion. She took a couple of seconds to introduce Kevin to the other four guys and vice versa. By the time she had finished, he had forgotten most of their names and the horses were ready.

A red cloak was thrown in Kevin's direction and he caught it, putting it on without a question or a comment. The other five were of course wearing their cloaks and they now pulled the hoods over their faces. Kevin followed their lead.

'We are the avenging, red ghosts,' Lottie laughed, jumping onto a horse gracefully. Kevin and the other four did the same. 'On my companions, let's spill some Vessalius blood,' she added and spurred her horse into gallop. Kevin decided that it would be useless to remind her about the Duke's words.

He had no time to worry about anything other than not falling off his horse. He was a good rider, but their speed required all of his attention. They sped past the Baskerville grounds and out towards Reveille. They needed to cross the city, because the Vessalius mansion was on the other side of the capital, as though to highlight the fact that the families stood in firm opposition.

Once they were about halfway around the city, Lottie turned outwards and soon they galloped through the forest. The thin path and trees slowed them down somewhat and Kevin hoped that they wouldn't arrive too late. Even though, he reasoned, the Vessalius had no reason to kill their hostages.

The man going in front took out a sword and swung it, not slowing down the slightest. As Kevin passed, a decapitated figure in a Vessalius-green uniform fell to the ground. A chill ran down his spine. Lottie laughed.

They stopped soon afterwards, not wanting to be discovered and raise alarm. One of the men took the horses and went back from where they came, to keep the horses out of the area patrolled by Vessalius' people. They would either meet up later or, if they were pressed, they would steal the Vessalius horses for the way back. Kevin, Lottie and the other four continued on foot, careful to not make too much noise and even more careful to listen for possible patrols.

The forest became thinner by the time they met two guards in Vessalius-green, walking casually, chatting. They didn't expect to be attacked and thus Lottie and another man had no trouble in coming behind them and slicing their throats. It was almost too good to be true, but they didn't encounter any other guards until they reached the stables.

The door was there, like Oz had promised. Lottie put a finger to her lips and sneaked in, barely needing to open the door. There was a moment of silence, then a body falling to the ground, a short shout of surprise and another body falling down. Seconds later, Lottie opened the door for them, smiling maniacally. Kevin didn't fail to notice the blood on her hands.

'There seems to be no more guards outside the tower,' she whispered as they filed into the stables. 'On the inside we should not get separated anymore and we should try to not make a noise either,' she added.

Somehow, Kevin ended up going second, right after the pink-haired slip of a woman that had single-handedly disposed of two guards at the entrance of the tower. He started seeing her in a different light. She made no sound as she went down the stairs and she made no sound when she put a hand over the mouth of a guard and sliced his throat with the other hand. She deposited the body gently on the floor and went on as though nothing happened.

Stepping over the body to follow her, Kevin shuddered. Maybe it was for the better that Baron Sinclair went to Duke Baskerville with the diary, he thought, because having his kind of enemy would sure be scary.

Like shadows, they entered a large, round space with a number of doors, presumably leading to cells. One of them was open and flickering light from the inside betrayed presence of torches inside. There was a figure in red-cloak standing in the doorway.

Kevin thought he could hear somebody say something inside the cell, but the words were too quiet to understand them. After a brief pause, a reply came in the voice that Kevin didn't exactly expect to hear, despite everything.

'Seeing me here, you brought upon your own death, Elliot Nightray. Saying it out loud, you sealed Gilbert's fate as well,' he heard Jack say calmly. 'My father will have to find another way of getting a hold of the diary.'

The figure in the doorway, Jack and at least one person holding a torch: it was way too many people to handle in the tiny cell. Kevin looked around and spotted a wooden tray with a large, empty plate and two glasses, lying on a stool. With a well-aimed kick, he sent it flying, glass shattering the relative silence of the tower. Immediately after, he dived into the shadows and the Baskerville guards followed his lead.

'Go and check it out,' Jack ordered from inside the cell. Kevin could hear the sound of two bodies hitting the ground, accompanied by muffled shouts of pain. Five figures, clad in red cloaks, ran out of the cell. He left them for Lottie and the others and barged into the cell himself.

He barely had time to register the gun in Jack's hand and Elliot and Gilbert on the ground, when Jack turned to face him and cursed. As he lifted his sword to strike, the blond ducked and grabbed Gilbert by the hair. Getting up, he pulled the boy roughly up with him, ignoring his cry of pain. In the last second, Kevin stilled his sword, while Jack put the gun to Gilbert's head, effectively stopping the boy from struggling.

Not lowering his sword, Kevin took in the blindfold and the badly bruised face, as well as the lack of any visible, serious wounds, even though Gilbert looked to be barely standing. He glanced at Elliot to see him holding his head, struggling to get up. Next to him, a torch was lying on the floor, the fire nearly extinguished.

'Let me go Kevin or you will have to face the wrath of the Duke,' Jack said, focusing Kevin's attention on himself. 'Don't think that you can swing your sword fast enough for me to not react and blow that boy's brains out,' he added and Kevin knew that it was not an idle threat.


	12. I won't die without you

**Ch. 12: I won't die without you**

The gun aimed at him didn't shake the slightest and Jack's calm tone left no doubt about the man's determination. However, before Jack's words had the time to sink in or the man could pull the trigger a loud noise of wood against stone and shattering glass echoed outside the cell. The impossible hope that help has arrived flitted through Elliot's head, but there still was a gun pointed at him and no chance that Jack would miss at that distance.

'Go and check it out,' the blond said harshly, a flicker of worry in his voice. Please let that be the Baskerville guards, Elliot thought at the same moment. The worry in Jack's voice was his strength.

The guard holding Elliot pushed him away from the entrance to the cell and threw him on the ground forcefully. In the last moment, Elliot managed to break the fall with his hands. He felt them scrape against the stone and he didn't quite manage to bite back the shout of pain, but at least his head didn't hit the floor. The shock of the collision still made him moan as a wave of dizziness all but immobilised him.

Next to him, Gilbert was thrown on the ground as well. Blindfolded, he didn't manage to break the fall, as well as Elliot did, and his face collided with the stone floor. Through the nearly overpowering dizziness, Elliot could hear him cry out in pain. When he turned his head, he could see Gilbert gingerly move his shaking, scraped hand to remove the blindfold and he thought he could hear him sob.

With a pain-filled groan, Elliot tried to move towards the younger boy. However, suddenly Jack was crouched between them, hiding Gilbert from his view. Or at least a red-clad figure was and Elliot assumed it was Jack. Closer to the entrance, Elliot could see a white-haired man in a red cloak, sword in his hand.

As he got up, Jack pulled Gilbert up as well, heedless of the boy's shout of pain.

'Let me go Kevin or you will have to face the wrath of the Duke,' he heard Jack say. He looked towards the man, who had his back to him now, Gilbert somewhere in front of him. 'Don't think that you can swing your sword fast enough for me to not react and blow that boy's brains out,' Jack added for good measure and Elliot knew that the white-haired knight would not risk it. Yet, he could not allow Jack to get out with Gilbert as a hostage.

As quietly as he could, he lifted himself into an upright position. It helped that Jack's attention was fully focused on the white-haired knight, Kevin. Having heard the man's name, Elliot vaguely remembered him from the party that seemed to have taken place centuries ago. Kevin's red eyes only flickered to Elliot for a split of a second, before focusing on Jack to not alert the man that something might be happening behind him.

Stifling a gasp of pain, Elliot leaned to pick up the torch, all but extinguished. He knew he would only have one chance.

'Don't do anything stupid, Jack,' Kevin said, keeping his tone calm. 'This boy's life is the only thing between you and death in the hands of Lottie,' he added. The sound of Jack cocking the gun was anything but reassuring. The tiny, scared whimper that followed only further reminded Elliot that Gilbert's life was at stake.

'Then don't make me kill him,' the blond said calmly. Very slowly, Kevin started lowering his sword. Watching him as he raised the torch to strike, Elliot thought that the man was pointing to his left with the tip of the sword. He took a quiet step in that direction and realised that, from there, he had a better chance in getting Gilbert away from Jack, who held his gun in his right hand.

He took a deep breath and swung the torch to hit Jack in the neck. Things went fast afterwards. Jack let go of Gilbert and Elliot let the torch fall as he yanked the boy out of Jack's grasp. The force of his own movement sent them both crashing against the closest wall and the only thing he could do was to protect Gilbert from the collision with his own body.

As his head hit the wall, he only had time to hope that Jack would be too busy with Kevin to turn around and shot the two of them on the spot.

})i({

He knew what Elliot planned to do as soon as the boy managed to stand up, albeit somewhat shakily. He purposefully focused his eyes on Jack, to not give Elliot away. Admittedly, he also wanted to closely watch the direction in which the gun was pointing, not really eager to be shot due to his negligence.

He only talked to Jack to fill in the stretching silence. He didn't expect the man to change his mind and he knew that they both knew that, without the precious hostage, Jack was as good as dead anyway. He lowered the sword slightly, as slowly as he could while still seemingly cooperating. He was pretty impressed when Elliot got his hint and moved to the left, where it would be easier to grab Gilbert.

However, after the Nightray heir completed his task, Kevin had no more time to pay attention to him. Even before the two kids hit the ground, he had his sword pointing at Jack, judging the chances he had against a gun.

The space in the cell was limited and he needed to keep Jack's attention off the hostages. Both those factors worked against him. Yet he didn't dare take a step back, for fear that Jack wouldn't follow immediately. The dull thud behind Jack served to distract the Vessalius minutely and Kevin swung his sword.

In the last moment, Jack ducked and the sword only cut air and the red cloak. Hitting a wall, due to the momentum of his motion, Jack gasped and aimed the gun at Kevin, who managed to duck in time as well.

The bullet hit the wall of the cell with a bang. As the sound faded away, Kevin vaguely heard Gilbert's panicked voice, but he had no time to focus on what the kid was saying. He was already charging again. Again his sword missed, scraping against the stone wall as Jack twisted away. He was dangerously close to the kids and, with some worry, Kevin noticed that Elliot seemed to be unconscious. That was probably why Gilbert sounded so anxious, he thought.

Jack also glanced in the direction of the kids and a smirk stretched his lips. Desperate to divert his attention, Kevin swung his sword at him, too late realising that it had been Jack's plan from the very beginning. He was mid-swing when the gun aimed at him.

As the second shot rang out in the cell, Kevin felt burning pain in his left shoulder and the force of the shot sent him backwards. He held onto his sword, knowing that losing it would be his end. Stars danced in front of his eyes, but he blinked them away, taking a moment to rest against the wall that was suddenly behind him.

'Say your prayers, Kevin,' Jack said with a sweet smile, coming up to him, gun aimed at Kevin's chest. 'I promise I won't miss this time and will end it quickly for you. I owe you this much for the friendship you offered in the Baskerville manor,' he added with irony.

'Go to hell, Jack,' Kevin growled, gripping his sword tighter. The gunshot wound was bleeding heavily, he could feel it. It was counting away minutes he had to get rid of Jack, minutes till the darkness would envelop his world.

'Not without you,' Jack quipped in a light tone.

Aware that he only had one chance, Kevin waited as his opponent took another step closer and swung his sword with all his might. The fountain of red drops and Jack's howl of pain, as his sword collided with something slightly more solid, told him that he managed to hit his target.

Another scream echoed in the cell as Jack's gun fell on the ground and fired at the impact, the bullet embedding itself in the stone wall not five centimetres away from Kevin's ankle. Black dots danced in front of Kevin's eyes, but he knew that it was too early to give up his consciousness. Mustering his strength, he grabbed his sword in both hands, ignoring the stinging pain in his left shoulder. He swung again, ending Jack's yell forever, along with his life, in another fountain of red drops.

Gilbert's screaming drowned the sound of Kevin's sword clattering against the stone floor as Jack's head rolled away. As Jack's body thumped against the floor, just barely missing Elliot's inert form, Kevin slid down against the wall. Blinking the black dots away, he gripped his shoulder with a pain-filled gasp.

The screaming only faded when red clad figures rushed into the cell, seconds later. Kevin realised that he had completely forgotten about them. He looked up and his eyes met Lottie's surprised gaze. He could clearly see that she was impressed with his actions, although she only spared a glance at him before turning to her priority: the heir of Duke Baskerville.

The boy was huddled next to Elliot and both of them were splattered with blood, which Kevin hoped was Jack's. However, while Elliot was blissfully unconscious, Gilbert was looking at the body in front of him, eyes wide opened and terrified on his tear-stained, bruised face. The blood pouring out of the body nearly reached him and he pressed further against the wall with a whimper.

'We have to get out before reinforcements arrive,' Lottie said emotionlessly, crossing the cell in a couple of fast steps. She kneeled next to the petrified boy and turned his face away from Jack's body. Kevin didn't hear what she said to the boy, because another of the guards kneeled in front of him and helped him up.

'The gunshots might have been heard in the mansion,' a third guard noted, picking up Kevin's sword and sheathing it, before the second guard wrapped Kevin's right arm around his shoulders. In the meantime, Lottie helped Gilbert up and held his hand, leading him towards the doorway. It seemed that he was quite alright, although in shock.

'He might have hit his head,' Kevin noted, watching warily how one of his red-cloaked companions picked Elliot up. Gilbert said something to Lottie and worry crossed her expression as she looked back at Elliot. She told the man to be extra careful.

The round room from which one could get into the cell was littered with bodies of the guards, not all of them in red-cloaks. Kevin assumed that more than the five he had seen were attracted to the noise he had created. It explained why his companions didn't come into the cell earlier: they were busy outside.

They left the prison tower slowly, not quite as quietly as they had entered. Doug, the only guard whose name Kevin remembered, went first, gun drawn. Lottie followed with Gilbert and then the man carrying Elliot, and Kevin with the guard helping him walk. The last was the only other, except for Doug, guard who had freedom of movement.

Thankfully, they met nobody on the stairs and nobody in the stables. Doug and the other one, who was free to move, sneaked out through the back door. Doug immediately came back to tell them that the path to the forest was clear, while the other joined them a moment later, urging them to hurry, because there were people running towards the stables from the mansion.

Every step forced a small gasp of pain from Kevin's lips, as even the shock of collision of his foot with the ground jarred the wound. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and forced his feet to move faster. He knew that, in the worst case, the Baskerville guards would leave him to guard the two kids and would take the Vessalius guards on, but it would be better if they got out without being spotted.

They entered the forest more or less in the same moment as chaos erupted in the stables, but they didn't even pause. It would only take a couple of minutes for the Vessalius guards to go down and see Jack's body and they would surely raise alarm immediately. By then, they needed to be far enough to not be caught in the search.

Doug and the other one fell behind, to delay anybody who might be on their trail, while Lottie led the way, going as fast as Gilbert was able to follow. Kevin tried to keep up, but was easier said than done. By the time he reached the horses, he was nearly fainting from exhaustion and blood-loss. Gilbert was already sitting on a horse and Lottie was mounting it behind him.

'Go as fast as you can,' she told the others as she directed Gilbert's hands to grip the saddle. 'I'll go ahead and sent back a carriage, because I think that neither Kevin nor Elliot will stand it well to go on horseback all this way,' she added. The man who helped Kevin walk told Lottie to be careful, while the other two Baskerville guards were already busy getting the unconscious Elliot up on a horse, so that one of them could ride with the boy. The pink-haired woman said nothing as she left at full gallop.


	13. Beneath the wreckage

**Ch. 13: Beneath the wreckage**

Opening his eyes, Elliot immediately realised that he was not in the cell anymore. For one, it was warm and he was lying on what could only be a soft bed. Secondly, there was plenty of sunlight filtering through the open window and a fresh breeze that smelled of roses.

He closed his eyes again, trying to remember. He had been held at gunpoint by Jack and then thrown harshly against the floor. He had helped saving Gilbert only to fall yet again, hitting his head yet again. It certainly explained why his head was hurting. His abdomen was hurting as well, although much less than his head, and he remembered being punched and kicked.

Birds were singing outside the window and he wondered idly if it would be alright to go back to sleep. However, the sound of the door opening and reluctant footsteps made him open his eyes again. His visitor, Gilbert, looked startled and took a step back, but Elliot smiled at him, taking in the damage. Nearly half of Gilbert's face was covered in bruises and grazes. They have clearly been cleaned and treated, but they still looked nasty. The clean cut of the dagger disappeared between them.

'Oh, you're awake,' Gilbert said after a moment of silence. Elliot's smile widened. 'I'll call your mother. She just went to rest a bit, she stayed at your bedside all night again,' he added and turned to leave.

'Wait,' Elliot called, discovering that his voice was quite hoarse. He cleared his throat as Gilbert stilled and turned back to face him. 'Why don't you fill me in on what happened and let my mother rest?' he suggested. 'And what did you mean by "again"? How long was I out?'

'Long enough to scare everybody,' Gilbert replied, taking a couple of apprehensive steps closer to the bed. Elliot patted the bed on his side and the younger boy took the invitation to sit down next to him, moving carefully as though he was hurting or afraid that jarring the bed would hurt Elliot. He could see that both Gilbert's hands were entirely wrapped in bandages, but he supposed that so were his. Now that he thought about it, they were stinging unpleasantly. 'It's been two nights since we got rescued and now it's almost midday,' Gilbert added.

'Okay, that's long,' Elliot agreed weakly. It was pretty scary that he had been knocked out for that long, but he wasn't going to say that, especially not in the face of Gilbert's obvious worry. 'I suppose there's only a limited number of times I can hit my head and get up afterwards,' he added with a laugh instead. Gilbert scolded him for joking on such a serious matter.

'I would never forgive myself if you died because of me,' he said, sounding both angry and worried. Elliot sobered up and looked at the other boy carefully. For a moment, he could see the future head of the Baskervilles in that small, bruised person. He supposed that they both grew up through that horrible experience. 'The Duke is very grateful for your sacrifice though. So am I of course but, next time, please try to be more careful about yourself as well,' Gilbert added in a tone that sounded more like himself.

'It's a deal,' Elliot said lightly. 'So we're in the Baskerville manor now? Tell me everything that happened,' he requested. 'The last thing I remember is hitting Jack in the back of his neck and getting you out of the range of his gun,' he added. Gilbert looked hesitant for a moment, but then sighed and spoke.

'Kevin Regnard, Edward's and Emily's guard, killed Jack,' he said in an emotionless tone, as though he was reading from a piece of paper. Elliot could see that he was very bothered by the topic and he felt somewhat relieved that he didn't need to witness Jack's death. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know more.

'They fought. Kevin got shot, but he still managed to decapitate Jack,' Gilbert added, misreading Elliot's silence, stumbling slightly over "decapitate". Elliot shuddered at the mental images that his words provoked.

Jack was somebody Elliot disliked although not as much as his father would have liked. Jack, like Oz, advocated peace between Vessalius and Baskerville families. Was it only a façade to get past Baskerville security? Would Oz be the same eventually?

However, it wasn't just the proclaimed desire for peace between the families. Jack had always been smiling and friendly, always ready to play with Gil, Vince and Alice or chat with him and Leo, as though they were friends. Jack had been head over heels in love with Lacie and would do silly stuff just to make her laugh. Jack being a part of their horrible ordeal didn't fit at all in Elliot's mental image of the man and yet it was indisputable: he had seen him. Jack being dead, decapitated even, was a sickening image.

'Afterwards Lottie and some others got us out of the tower,' Gilbert continued and Elliot focused on the boy's pale face and golden eyes, still carrying the shadow of those events. 'She took me on horseback and went fast to send a carriage for you and Kevin. I heard that everything went alright for you, but Doug and Bill needed to kill some Vessalius guards who got too close on your trail.'

'So Kevin is,' Elliot started and trailed off. He barely remembered the man, but he understood that he owed his life to him and hoped that he was alright.

'Recovering,' Gilbert assured him. 'He got shot in the shoulder and lost a lot of blood, but he woke up yesterday evening and seems to already be gaining strength. Even Lottie is impressed by him and apparently suggested to the Duke that he gets Kevin from the Sinclairs, but I'm not sure if Kevin is very willing.'

'Will he even have the choice if the Duke decides that?' Elliot asked. Gilbert shrugged and winced slightly, probably because he was all battered from being thrown around and generally manhandled. At least it didn't seem to be serious, since he seemed to move pretty freely, Elliot thought.

'I think the Duke is smart enough to know when to not push the issue,' he said neutrally and Elliot smiled. It was probably true, he thought.

'Do you know how they knew where we were?' he asked, realising that it was impossible that Vincent managed to dream up the answer. Gilbert looked away for a moment and then told him quietly that Oz Vessalius had found them by accident and went to the Duke. 'Oz,' Elliot muttered, recognising that the fate of the Vessalius family wasn't entirely irrelevant for him. What would happen to Oz?

'He's being kept here as a sort of hostage, although it is public knowledge,' Gilbert answered Elliot's unasked question quietly. 'It's also public knowledge that we have been kidnapped by the Vessalius family and the Duke Vessalius will stand trial in front of the king, as he had taken full responsibility for his and Jack's actions. He claims that Oscar Vessalius knew nothing of the kidnapping and neither did Oz and Ada. To assure that he doesn't try anything funny, the Duke demanded to keep Oz here,' he paused. 'But it's not so bad because Edward also insisted to stay and, together with Leo, they are pretending it's some sort of holidays.'

'Sounds like Leo,' Elliot laughed quietly, letting the news sink in. 'Tell Oz "thank you" from me, will you?' he asked and Gilbert nodded. 'I'll do it once I'm allowed to get up, but I think that for now I should still stay in bed,' he added, smiling when Gilbert frowned with worry.

'Oz says "sorry",' the boy said. 'He's not allowed in this wing of the manor so every time anybody goes to check on you, he asks to tell you that, in case you wake up.'

'Why would Oz be sorry?' Elliot asked, even though he could imagine feeling somewhat guilty for the deeds of his father. However, if it had really been Oz who directed the Baskervilles to the tower, then he had more than atoned for his guilt.

'They have discovered that we have been taken out of the manor in the carriage, hidden in the seat boxes,' Gilbert informed him. That much I have guessed, Elliot thought, remembering the frightening experience of not having enough air. Compared to the rest of the captivity, it seemed almost funny, but he didn't want to think about it, so he focused on Gilbert's calm, still somewhat emotionless voice and expression. 'Oz said that he had thought there was something weird with the carriage, but Jack had assured him that all the Baskerville carriages looked like that.'

'And he thinks he could have avoided all that if he had raised alarm?' Elliot guessed, unsurprised. 'That's so typical for Oz,' he added, his voice raising a bit. 'Tell that airhead that if he breathed a word then he would have probably been locked up in the Vessalius mansion and wouldn't ever manage to tell the Duke anything.'

Gilbert smiled widely and immediately gasped quietly in pain as the movement pulled on the bruises and grazes on his face. He moved his hand up to his face but stopped before it made contact. He swallowed and breathed in deeply, seemingly forgetting that he wasn't alone. Watching him, Elliot understood a bit better the calm and emotionless demeanour.

'I think even the Duke told him that and I did it as well, but he'll probably appreciate your input nonetheless,' Gilbert said after a moment of silence. Elliot opened his mouth to reply with a witty comment, but the door opening abruptly made both him and Gilbert freeze. He forcefully reminded himself that there was nothing to fear anymore. He was about to reassure Gilbert, when he noticed that the intruder was Vincent, who looked close to frantic.

'There you are,' he said. 'I thought you were gone again,' he exclaimed and rushed towards the bed, where Gilbert was sitting. Elliot braced himself for the careless kid to jump onto the bed and envelop Gilbert in a crushing hug but nothing like that happened. Instead, Vincent came to an abrupt halt just before he could touch Gilbert. His eyes widened and he looked ready to burst into tears, especially when Gilbert jumped off the bed with a stumble and a hiss and embraced him gingerly. Elliot could see Vincent's hands fisting on Gilbert's clothes as the younger brother made visible effort to not squeeze too hard. It was heart-breaking to see their childish spontaneity crushed by the harsh reality.

'Vincent, Gilbert,' he heard Lacie's voice from the corridor. Vincent jumped away from his brother, which made Elliot frown and provoked a sad expression on Gilbert's face. Why would he do that? It made no sense, unless he got scolded for hurting his brother by hugging him too closely. Moments later, the sister of the Duke appeared in the room, looking around.

'I told you to let Elliot- oh, you're awake,' she smiled at him and shooed the two kids out of the room, telling them to go and eat lunch and not escape their guards anymore.

'I know that Oswald is being paranoid, but those two should respect their guards a bit more,' she laughed, closing the door behind the two kids. 'I'm glad to see you awake. How are you feeling Elliot?' she asked, coming closer to the bed and pouring a glass of water. Elliot only now realised how thirsty he was and he gratefully accepted her help to drink a bit.

'I'm alright, all things considered,' he replied when Lacie let him settle back down on the pillow. She fussed a bit with his covers and then went to close the window.

'Everybody was beside themselves with worry,' she said in a light tone. She seemed really relieved to see him awake. 'Your mother had spent all the night here and only a moment ago I managed to convince her to take some rest. I'll let her know when she wakes up, that you were awake or still are awake, depending,' she babbled. Elliot wondered if it had been that scary that he didn't wake up for so long, because it wasn't like Lacie to babble like that. 'Your father is away today, so I guess you'll only see him tomorrow. Both he and Oswald will be relieved and I won't even mention the kids. Gilbert has been coming here almost every hour, to see if you are awake.'

'Will Gil be alright?' he asked, worried, taking advantage of the fact that she needed to breathe. Lacie's smile disappeared.

'Eventually,' she replied, her tone taking on a more serious quality. 'I would say that he's coping quite well, all things considered, but I think that it's thanks to you largely. Thank you for taking care of him,' she added. Elliot felt that he was blushing. He hadn't done anything exceptional and he failed in what he wanted to do, at least partially. Would everybody praise him now? He certainly hoped not. The corners of Lacie's lips twitched in a smile, as though she was reading his mind.

'It seems in fact that Vincent took it harder, but they have always been inseparable and I'm sure that just being together is helping,' she continued, changing topic, for which he was grateful. Her words made Elliot remember what Gilbert had told him about Vincent's nightmares and he forgot all about his bashfulness.

'Is it true that Vince dreams about things that happen to Gil?' he asked and a sad smile crossed Lacie's face momentarily. It was good enough for answer, but she spoke anyway.

'I'm afraid that it's true. They have both been having nightmares about Jack's death since and I don't think it's quite over yet,' she said with a sad edge to her voice. Elliot mentally kicked himself for asking. He knew that he should say he was sorry, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth.

'Are you feeling up for a lunch yourself?' Lacie asked with renewed enthusiasm, as though their previous conversation didn't happen. 'If you want I can send in Leo and Edward with something easy to eat,' she suggested. 'I will also make sure that Oz can come with them, because it will do both him and you good to have some time to chat.'

'That sounds nice,' Elliot agreed. She helped him to sit up and put in additional pillows, so that he could rest against them. She warned him to not overdo it and that the others would only be allowed in for an hour or so, or else Elliot would find himself assaulted by Alice and Vincent as well. He laughed and agreed to all the conditions.

After she left, he closed his eyes breathed in deep. The scent of roses was still there, despite the closed window, mingling with the scent of clean bed sheets. The sun was now shining on his face and he revelled in the warm feeling. He really was out of the dim cell, away from the harsh treatment and cruel fear. Well, maybe there still was some fear lurking in him, waiting for the night to come, but he knew it would be alright eventually. After all, he was the heir of the Nightray earldom.

**The End**


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